


Skaia Academy; The Most Dangerous And Difficult Hunter School In Remnant

by QuietFangirl



Category: Homestuck, RWBY
Genre: Airships, Awesome Weapons That Defy Logic, Badass Fight Scenes, Both are just crushes really, Cameos, Canon-Typical Violence, Character(s) of Color, Everyone Is Gay, Everyone Needs A Hug, Guns, Gunshot Wounds, It's Hard and Nobody Understands, Minor Character(s), Minor Kanaya Maryam/Vriska Serket, Minor Terezi Pyrope/Dave Strider, Muslim Character, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pesterlog(s) (Homestuck), Tags May Change, Teenage Drama, Women Being Awesome
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-28
Updated: 2018-01-05
Packaged: 2019-02-07 03:34:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 24,052
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12832443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuietFangirl/pseuds/QuietFangirl
Summary: Kanaya Maryam is starting at Skaia Academy, the most difficult Hunter academy in Remnant. She deals with relationships, being gay, hunting monsters, and being a faunus with bat wings. Unfortunately, things get even more difficult when she uncovers conspiracies that will change all of Remnant forever.I'm not good at titles, tags, or summaries, but I can write like Alexander Hamilton. The fourth wall technically exists, but it's cracked in some places. Knowledge of RWBY isn't necessary, but it helps. Not really romance, so if that's what you're looking for, there are more fluffy fics elsewhere.





	1. Chapter 1

Kanaya’s piercing jade green eyes fluttered open. Of _course_ someone was bothering her. When were they not? Specifically, she was being bothered by a girl of a pretty average height and a thin build, skin a pale and flawless porcelain as if she were an oversized and admittedly creepy doll.

She affixed one of her signature, world-class glares at the girl, who matched her stare evenly. The girl’s eyes were entrancing amethyst that stood out beneath her platinum blonde hair, bangs controlled by a matching violet headband. The girl’s makeup was… decent, even if the eyeliner was unevenly winged. Black lipstick, mascara, eyeliner, and eyeshadow made her pale skin seem almost an ivory white, but the girl pulled it off. “May I help you?” she asked dryly, contempt rolling off her tongue with every word.

“I cannot help but be curious as to my fate,” the girl commented, “as it seems to me that neither yes nor no will satisfy you. Alas, I do require directions. My brother and I are looking for the Dersian wing.”

Kanaya hummed noncommittally. In the kingdom of Medium, the main Hunter school was Skaia. It had dorms split between Prospit Building and Derse Building, and it wasn’t uncommon to have teams split between the two. Medium’s capital was Paradox, and Skaia was in the dead center. “The Dersian building is down that path.”

“Yo, are you some kinda bat?” Kanaya sighed inwardly as a kid with darker skin, just a few shades darker and far more natural than a bad spray tan, slouched over and draped an arm over the girl’s shoulder.

Kanaya hid her emotions beneath a smooth mask that she had perfected via cosmetics, but her bat wings flicked in annoyance. “Yes.” She kept her words clipped and succinct. “Now if you don’t mind…” She let her words trail off, and she fit her headphones back over her ears, collecting stares from human passersby, leaned back on the stairs, closed her eyes, and let the music block out most of the noises around her.

Luckily for her, the people of Medium weren’t terribly biased against Faunus. In this society, the people who ran the Hunter schools held all the power, and that was kind of a mixed bag. Of course, Medium was rife with crime, but most of it was regulated by the private investigators and the mob bosses. Kanaya mostly kept her head down, stayed out of the way, and didn’t make herself a target. She quickly became acutely aware of someone touching her, and she pulled down her headphones.

“Hey Kanaya.” In front of her was a short boy with large white corgi ears, untamable white hair (and Kanaya had tried), and red eyes with looming shadows under them. Kanaya clucked her tongue reproachfully at his shabby appearance. His outfit, consisting of an oversized black hoodie and sweatpants, looked positively disgusting compared to her spotless black dress with jade green sleeves reaching to her wrists that stood out excellently from her chocolate brown skin. Her Virgo symbol was along the hem of the dress in silver, as well as on her jade green hijab. “Yeah yeah, rub it in, why don’t you,” he grumbled. “My uniform will be properly put together when the teams are assigned.” 

“My apologies, Karkat, I don’t mean to be rude.” Kanaya stood up and brushed herself off. “Perhaps we ought to make haste.” 

The faunus pair walked to Prospit side-by-side, Karkat slouching by and Kanaya strutting with precise clicks from her high heeled shoes. It didn’t take long to reach Prospit, where the pair was met with a throng of students all milling about.

Karkat joined a pair of faunus; one with insectoid wings and the other with rottweiler dog ears flopping out of his mane of hair. Kanaya waved her farewell and stepped out of the way of a girl with one arm and one eye, who flipped her cerulean blue hair over one shoulder and sneered.

“Watch where you’re going.” The girl froze at Kanaya’s comment and turned to glare.

“Is that supposed to be clever?” she asked, voice raising in volume. “Because I’m a spider faunus who lost seven eyes?” 

“What?” It was her turn to ask questions. “I didn’t- That’s not-” 

She was saved from the awkwardness by another girl, this one with cat-eye red glasses. “Shut it Serket.” Her voice was nasally, and she was short. Not nearly as short as Karkat, but that was awfully hard to do. Her hair was a fiery ginger red, the same shade as her glasses, and she had a long turquoise salamander tail. “She’s a faunus too.” 

Serket rolled her eye and kept walking into Prospit, with the mysterious girl following. Kanaya sighed and entered as well.

The pair walked off, bickering. She shook her head and entered the large building, which was quickly filling up with other future Prospit students. She assumed her typical role of wallflower, staying out of the way of everyone’s shenanigans.

A tall, imposing woman with fair skin wrangled the crowd of students into the gigantic tiered auditorium, and Kanaya took her seat in the back corner next to an olive-skinned girl with a mass of dark red hair reaching down to her waist. Freckles dusted all of the skin she could see, and protruding from the sides of her head were long curling ram horns. 

“Hello,” Kanaya greeted, and the girl turned her head. Her dark brown eyes were vacant as she mumbled back. She nodded nervously and turned her attention to the co-assistant-headmistress, who was the one that had gathered all the children. 

“My name is Whitney Queen,” the lady began, her voice echoing through the dome-shaped room despite the chatter, which died down immediately. “I am the one in charge of keeping Prospit in order. The headmaster, mister Andrew Hussie, is unavailable at the moment, but I’ll do my best to replace- Take over his duties for the time being,” she corrected. Students laughed at the correction, and the lady smiled. “Good to see there’s a sense of humor here. When I was in Atlas, there wasn’t a single smile.” This time Kanaya couldn’t suppress a chuckle. “You all are here to become new Hunters and Huntresses. Working in tandem with your teammates to drive back the creatures that threaten Remnant. Simply by choosing to attend this school, you have proven yourselves to be more courageous than students at any other school. We face more terrifying creatures than those you conjure up in your darkest nightmares.” She could see some students shivering in their seats, and she knew it wasn’t from cold. “However, we will arm you, train you, and teach you to be not just powerful protectors,” Mrs. Queen paused for dramatic effect, and sure enough, lightning flashed into the room, “but also strong-willed, strong-minded, humble citizens of Remnant.” 

The room erupted in applause. Mrs. Queen took a small bow and left the stage. A lady, younger than Mrs. Queen, took her place. “Tomorrow, the trials for teams will begin. Please, get a good night’s sleep.” Students took this as a cue to leave, and Kanaya got carried off in the current. She wound up in the main hall of Prospit and stretched out her wings. She glanced anxiously at the people around her. 

“Sorry about Vriska.” She jumped at the nasally and oddly familiar voice from behind her. She turned to see the salamander girl from earlier. The girl, upon seeing her reaction, burst out in wheezing cackles. Kanaya caught her breath as the girl calmed down from her laughing fit. “I’m Pyrope. Terezi Pyrope.”

“Kanaya Maryam,” she replied. “That girl from earlier was Vriska?” 

“Yup!” Terezi popped the “p” and cackled again. “She’s defensive about her mutilation. It was her fault, but there’s no rest for the wicked!” 

“You’re awfully decisive about that,” she commented, making her way to a quiet section of the crowded room. 

“Yeah! She’s the reason I’m blind!” Kanaya turned on her heel and stared at Terezi. Her other shoe hit the stone with a satisfying click. The other just sniffed obnoxiously and grinned, displaying all of her teeth. She just shook her head incredulously and kept walking. Another voice, probably Vriska’s, called to Terezi. “Sorry, gotta run.” Terezi left, and Kanaya settled down in the corner. She pulled out her book Complacency of the Learned and opened to her bookmark. She wasn’t five chapters in when she was interrupted yet again. She looked up slowly, a glare forming on her face, but stopped when she saw it was the lady who had spoken on the stage after Mrs. Queen. 

“Excuse me,” she began, and she felt guilty for even thinking of glaring at this sweet lady. “Everyone will be staying in Skaia Hall for the night, so we’re trying to get everyone there sooner rather than later.” 

Kanaya nodded and stood up. She started heading to Skaia Hall, which was the entryway that connected the two buildings, but paused. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.” 

The lady looked surprised. “Oh!” She blushed faintly. “Just call me Miss Paint.” 

She nodded and kept walking, reaching Skaia Hall in just a few minutes. She assumed a position along the wall again and buried herself in her book. A feeling of deja-vu washed over her as she was interrupted by a familiar porcelain face standing over her. She rolled her eyes, let out a sigh, replaced her bookmark, and closed the book with a snap. It was the girl from the steps earlier. 

“Sorry for disturbing you.” The girl sat next to Kanaya, who shifted away minutely. “I believe we got off to a rocky start earlier. My name is Rose Lalonde.” 

She looked at the girl, who had extended a palm in her direction. The nails were painted a soft violet color, complimenting her outfit well. “Kanaya Maryam.” 

“Which book is that?” she asked. She could hear ulterior motives veiled behind her innocent question. 

Kanaya sized her up for a moment, taking in her cheerleader-esque physique. “Complacency of the Learned,” she answered. Rose’s eyes gleamed, and she knew that the other girl had predicted this answer. 

“Fascinating,” she commented, staring at her. “Are you enjoying it?” 

Kanaya huffed. “So much so that I would love to keep on reading.” She nodded and turned her attention to the scroll in her hand, typing furiously at the device. She pulled out her book, but couldn’t focus. Instead, she read off of her scroll. It didn’t take long for Rose to notice, who promptly shut the scroll. 

“I see you’re certainly interested in reading something,” she commented sarcastically. She blushed. Before she could formulate a retort, her scroll buzzed. 

Kanaya opened her scroll to see a flood of fuchsia characters. Her dear friend Feferi was opening a relay. She looked at the conversation so far. Mostly there were fish puns sprinkled between parenthetical h’s. Rose turned to her own scroll, and she answered Feferi.

cuttlefishCuller [CC] opened relay with grimAuxiliatrix [GA]  
CC: )(-ELLO!  
GA: Hey  
CC: KANAYA )(I!   
CC: Glub glub glub glub glub!  
CC: 38)  
GA: You Seem More Excited Than Usual   
GA: Or Less  
GA: I Cant Tell  
GA: Help Me Tell Without Saying Glub  
CC: Glub glub glub glub glub glub glub!  
GA: Im Going To Type This Face Now   
GA: :?  
GA: Even Though No One Knows How To Make A Mouth Do A Question Shape Like That  
CC: )(a)(a sorry!   
CC: I cant really control t)(e glubs.  
GA: Yes You Can   
GA: But Thats Fine You Can Glub To Your Hearts Content  
GA: If It Means You Are Excited About Something  
CC: I AM -EXCIT-ED!   
GA: Ok Why   
CC: -Everyt)(ing we are about to do next is exciting.   
CC: It is always exciting.  
CC: I'm -EXCIT----------------ED!  
CC: Pc)(ooooo.  
GA: It Looks Like One Of Your Letters Got Away From You   
CC: )(a)(a yea)( I really launc)(ed t)(at one.   
GA: You Forked An Innocent D Loitering Over There By The Shout Pole Minding Its Own Business   
CC: )(-E)(-E!   
CC: Glub glub glub!  
CC: )(-EY! Lets stop being retarded for a minute.  
GA: Yeah Sure   
CC: I am just worked up about t)(is sc)(ool, it will be great.   
CC: Ive been waiting a long time to attend! We all )(ave.  
GA: I Thought So   
GA: I Have Been Cloaked In A Mood Of Perpetual Anticipation For Some Time As Well  
CC: We s)(ould compare notes. Even t)(oug)( we are from different sc)(ools!   
GA: Well   
GA: Not Really  
CC: )(mm really?   
CC: See t)(is is w)(y we s)(ould be comparing notes! 38O  
GA: What Notes Would You Like To Submit For Comparison   
CC: )(mmmmmm.   
CC: Well I am going to work with my team pretty late.  
CC: I t)(ink I )(ave to!  
CC: I will need to get to work after my goofball best frond does so I can keep my goggles on )(is nefarious escapades.  
CC: Its a toug)( job but its important! Everyone )(as an important job to do.  
GA: Yeah   
CC: Isnt t)(at w)(at youre doing too? Getting involved late to keep an eye on yours?   
GA: I Dont Know For A Fact That She Is Mine   
CC: )(a)(a youre not supposed to know for a FACT dummy!   
CC: You just do w)(at you t)(ink is rig)(t and even if you were wrong t)(e worst t)(at )(appened was you )(elped somebody and )(elped t)(e w)(ole world too!  
GA: I Know   
GA: But What If I Dont Really Want Her To Be That  
CC: Glub glub glub glub S)(RUG.   
GA: Yeah Glub Glub Shrug Is The Right Attitude I Think   
GA: Our Minds Are Already Made Up Anyway Arent They  
CC: Yes probably!   
CC: Your dreams tell you everyt)(ing so w)(at do you even )(ave to worry about?  
GA: They Dont Tell Me Everything   
GA: Just As I Am Sure She Doesnt Tell Everything To You  
CC: T)(ats true.   
CC: O)( s)(ucks now Im going to get sad.  
CC: S)(e will be gone soon. 38(  
CC: T)(oug)( I guess it will be a relief not to )(ave to worry about keeping )(er voice down anymore!  
GA: I Wonder If Any Other Kid On The Planet Has As Many Burdens In The Fire As You   
GA: I Doubt It  
CC: T)(ey arent burdens!  
CC: Ok I guess t)(ey are )(a)(a.  
CC: But I love t)(em and I wouldnt )(ave it any ot)(er way because t)(is is w)(y Im )(ere!  
CC: On t)(at note I t)(ink Im going to go say goodbye to )(er. Maybe you s)(ould too w)(ile you )(ave t)(e c)(ance!  
CC: Even t)(oug)( Ill see )(er again soon w)(ic)( still seems kind of strange to me.  
CC: But t)(ats w)(y t)(is is all so -EXCITING!  
CC: KANAYA BY----------------------------E!  
cuttlefishCuller [CC] ceased the relay with grimAuxiliatrix [GA]

Outside, night was blanketing the spires of Skaia Academy. Rose had already left, and Kanaya stood up. She was one of few people awake in the hall. She unfurled her leathery wings and silently flew up, brushing along the high ceiling. She settled in the bathroom, checking to make sure it was empty. Quickly, she changed into her pajamas. She debated whether or not to include her hijab. She decided to improvise a hijab from a soft and relatively thin blanket before heading back into the hall. She claimed a sleeping bag and settled down for the night. 

She was woken up by the hundreds of kids getting ready. She climbed out and claimed a bathroom stall. She changed quickly, and tried her best to do her hair without the help of a large mirror. She had to use a simple compact mirror, which was cumbersome. Kanaya tightly tied the hijab, not wanting it to come loose during the trials, and took her place in front of the large bathroom mirror. 

When she finally finished her makeup, she reentered the hall. Students were testing their weaponry, and she scanned the crowd to see if she could find anyone she recognized that she could join without interrupting something. Karkat was having a practice session with the guys he had joined yesterday, Terezi and Vriska were sparring, but Rose was finishing her makeup in her compact mirror.

“Hello,” Kanaya greeted when she was done, sitting beside her. “It seems our roles have been reversed.”

Rose gave a smile and pulled two black knitting needles with oversized handles from a ball of yarn. “Care for a sparring match?” She nodded eagerly and uncapped her jade-colored lipstick. Rose started to scoff, but was cut off by the roaring of her chainsaw. “Impressive,” she noted. “Lightweight and collapsible?”

“Collapsible,” she replied. “Not lightweight. All weaponry has its flaws.” 

“Too true.” She rushed forward with her needles held in front of her gently, closer to wielding small daggers than two swords. Which, Kanaya supposed, she was. The needles were met with air. She had danced around the head-on attack and brought her chainsaw down at Rose’s head with a threatening shriek. The other ducked and kicked out at her waist, which was parried with the flat of her chainsaw. 

“Students!” A booming voice commanded the people in the room to freeze. For a solid minute, the only noise came from Kanaya’s chainsaw before she wrestled it back into the unassuming lipstick form. “For you Prospitians, I am Beatrice Queen. Address me as Mrs. Queen or not at all. Follow me to the trial grounds.” She marched out of the room, students falling over themselves to follow. 

They ended up at the top of a cliff. The only instructions given were that you had to get an idol and bring it back safely, that the first person you met eyes with was to be your partner, and to survive any way you can. Kanaya, who was situated in the middle of the line-up of students, got the opportunity to prepare for what would happen. It became vastly clear when a dorky, fashion-blind kid with the surname “Egbert”, incessantly asked questions about what would happen and got shot into the sky with the other students. 

She didn’t get much of a chance to see how Terezi, Vriska, or Rose did in their landings. She braced herself as she was flung into the sky. Her wings unfolded and carried her for a good distance before she chose to land, wanting to have the full experience rather than skip through it all. She landed elegantly on the ground, having been able to glide around the tree branches. An enthusiastic clapping came from behind her.

“That was incredibubble!” The nautical pun tipped her off immediately. She pulled out her lipstick and turned to see a tall girl with a Hawaiian tan and very showy clothes. The girl had a black one-piece swimsuit covered by a flowing skirt of seafoam greens and pastel blues. She was barefoot, and her ankles were adorned with golden anklets to match her wrists, which jangled with bracelets of gold and pink. Her toes were webbed, and Kanaya could tell she was a frog faunus. Around her neck, light pink beaded necklaces mixed with the pure black swimsuit. Her golden tiara atop her long chestnut waves of hair displayed her symbol, and her fuchsia goggles were over her lovely pale blue eyes.

“Feferi,” she greeted warmly. “I take it we’re partners?”

The girl beamed. “Of course! I can’t believe we got paired up! Were you watching for me?”

Kanaya opened her mouth to respond, but an unnatural roar cut her off. Her chainsaw bellowed back as it roared to life. Feferi tensed up, her tiara turning into her double trident. It rolled down her back and into her awaiting hand. She danced around to the other side of the creature, which was a creature of Grim, and stabbed it in the back. It swung a claw to bat the girl aside, but the paw landed against a tree, separated from its shoulder by a chainsaw. She ripped it through its chest, and it dissolved into black smoke. The other girl sprang to her feet and smiled.

The pair continued through the forest, mowing down any Grim in their path. Finally, they reached a lake with a fragile-looking bridge leading to an island in the center. The two shared a glance and Feferi dove into the water. Kanaya flapped her wings and glided over her partner, who was quickly and easily making her way through the lake. Her partner surfaced just as she touched ground. 

“Can we take this one?” Feferi asked, pointing to the white queen chess piece. 

“I’m a bit more partial to the black queen,” Kanaya confessed. She shrugged, ignoring the bat faunus’ uncertainty, and grabbed the black queen piece. She passed the piece to Kanaya, who had sewn subtle pockets into her outfit, and swam to the other side of the lake. She only made it about halfway before something wrapped tightly around her ankle. 

“Kanaya!” she shouted. She fully submerged herself and swam to the source. A terrifying octopus was slowly but surely dragging her down into its beak-like maw. She twirled her trident and stabbed viciously at the tentacle, which let go. More reached upward, and she spun her trident in a circle, severing the tentacles. A blast of concentrated jade-hued energy tore into the beast’s maw, bubbles streaming in its wake. She took the opportunity to dive further and plunge her trident straight down. It screeched in pain and dissolved in a puff of ink and smoke. She swam to the surface and stepped ashore. Kanaya was holding the tube of lipstick as if it was a gun. “Thanks! I reel-y needed the help!”

Kanaya rolled her eyes good-naturedly at the nautical pun. “Any time. Let’s hurry, I don’t know if that ink will stain and I’d rather not have to re-dye your hair.”

Feferi laughed, and it sounded as if bells were chiming beautifully. The pair hurried past the lake and made their way steadily to the end destination. They reached a cliff face, and she sighed. “I can’t jump that high,” she cautioned.

"I wasn't going to make you." Kanaya frowned at the cliff. "Are we supposed to-"

She cut off as three ginormous Grim charged into the clearing. Instinctively, she unleashed her chainsaw and her teammate twirled her trident dramatically and pointed it in the direction of the Grim. A scorpion was snapping at Karkat's and the rottweiler kid's heels, an over-sized bear was charging after a diminutive girl and a tall man, and a gigantic black bird circled overhead. Six other Hunters and Huntresses barreled into the clearing. Kanaya unfurled her wings and shot upward, her chainsaw drowning out any second thoughts. The Grim in the sky snapped at her, nearly catching her wing in its beak. She brought her chainsaw down. It dodged and reared back, scraping its talons along the jade-colored aura shield Kanaya had summoned. A blast of violet energy was narrowly avoided by both the crow and the girl. The small girl that was chased by the bear was shot into the sky and latched on to the crow's back and cut deep into the bird, just as she tore viciously through the bird's feathered neck with her chainsaw, severing the tendons holding it together. As the Grim dissolved, she caught the girl and began to descend.

As this happened in the air, Feferi remained on the ground. She sized up the situation, time almost seeming to slow. She bolted to the small girl's side and stabbed through a paw that was bearing down on her. The man laced his fingers into a basket, and the girl stepped on. Feferi was only able to make it out as a blur of blues and greens in her peripheral vision. She covered the girl's ascend with a well-placed stab to the beast's abdomen. It stumbled backwards, and in this moment of weakness, the man punched the beast in the skull. She looked at him oddly before leaping high into the air, but not high enough to reach any birds, not that she was trying. Her trident let out a series of fuchsia shots into the air, not hitting anything but clouds. She shot downwards and stabbed into its skull. The trident only chipped at the bony cover. "Here," she called, running out of breath. She rolled to the side just as the man dashed forward and slammed his fist into the crack. Around his fist, the beast became a plume of smoke. 

The students filled Skaia Hall, all waiting attentively for their teams to be called. A man stepped forward and dragged a folding chair behind him. With the entire student body watching, he unfolded the chair and sat down, pausing to adjust it. 

"Miss Paint!" he called, breaking the focused silence. "Can I get a blanket?" Kanaya sighed but kept her attention wholly on the man onstage. Miss Paint hurried onstage carrying a bright green blanket. She whispered in his ear, and he hummed. "That explains why so many kids are here." Miss Paint rushed offstage, and the man cleared his throat. "So," he began, clapping his hands together. "I'm Andrew Hussie, your amazing headmaster- well, that's a lie," he conceded, "I'm not amazing. Let's see..." He sifted through a briefcase full of papers and triumphantly pulled out a packet. "Aha! Teams, teams, okay." He cleared his throat again, and she saw some kids in the crowd tapping their feet impatiently. "John Egbert, Jade Harley, Dave Strider, and Rose Lalonde. You four are split between buildings and are led by John Egbert as team JRDJ. Don't ask me how to pronounce it. Whose idea was it to abandon the color name role?"

"Seeing as how you're the headmaster, it was probably you," Dave sassed. Hussie rolled his eyes. 

"Yeah yeah. Next up," he waited for the team to leave the stage, "Jane Crocker, Dirk Strider, Jake English, and Roxy Lalonde, you all are team JDJR," this one he didn't bother to spell out and just pronounced it as "Judger", led by Jane Crocker. You're split between the buildings." After they left, he continued. "Karkat Vantas, Eridan Ampora, Sollux Captor, and Gamzee Makara, you guys are team KESG led by Karkat Vantas and you're in Prospit." He spelled this one out too. They all filed offstage, so Hussie continued. "Aradia Megido, Terezi Pyrope, Tavros Nitram, and Vriska Serket are team ATTV," this was pronounced as attentive, "and are led by Aradia Megido and are staying in Prospit." He barely missed a beat when he read off the next list of names, leaving team ATTV to rush offstage. "Feferi Peixes, Equius Zahhak, Nepeta Leijon, and Kanaya Maryam are team FENK." Kanaya hurried onstage after the small girl, of whom she deduced to be Nepeta. "You're led by Feferi Peixes and are staying in Derse." He continued assigning teams, but now that she had been called, she stopped paying attention. Feferi led them out of the hall and through the hallways to Derse.

"So!" Feferi wound her way through halls that gradually developed from bluish-gray stone and into purple brick. "My name's Feferi! I wield a double-sided trident that's disguised as my tiara, and the points can also shoot bullets!" 

"As you've probably guessed, I'm Kanaya. I use a chainsaw that is typically collapsed as my lipstick, which, in its lipstick form, can shoot bullets as well. The engine of the chainsaw can cycle through Dust, but I don't usually use that feature."

"Why not?" Equius asked. "Oh, I do not mean to be rude."

"I either can't afford it or I use it up too much," she answered smoothly. "People usually don't like me in their store, what with my hijab and my bat wings."

"Well anemone-way!" Feferi not-so-subtly changed the subject. "You two are?"

"I'm Nepeta Leijon!" Nepeta had short ginger hair that was roughly cut, almost as if she had cut it herself. An olive green cat tail streamed out from beneath the over-sized olive green trench coat she wore over a tee-shirt and jeans. Her feet were in blue sneakers, and her hair was covered by a blue hat with knitted cat ears and sewn white button eyes. Her eyes were also olive green, and her nose and cheeks were covered liberally with freckles. "I mews blades concealed in my claws!" She displayed them, and sure enough, they emerged from the knuckles of the finger-less blue gloves.

"I am Equius Zahhak." Equius had skin suggesting a Native American heritage, and had hair to match. It streamed down his shoulders in limp waves. His muscular arms were shown as his tank-top, stained with sweat, left little of his chest region to the imagination. His hips to his knees were covered by khaki shorts that were frayed at the ends, and his ankles and feet were covered by pristine white socks and black cleats. "I am STRONG enough to merely use my fists and own physical power, though I am training to use a bow and arrow, which are the noblest of weaponry." 

Nepeta giggled, sheathing her claws. "Purr-raining? You cat even get an arrow to leave the bow without breaking it!" Equius and Nepeta began bickering like siblings, and Kanaya shared a soft smile with Feferi. 

"Kanaya!" She turned to see Rose hurrying over, Dave following at a much more leisurely pace. She handed the faunus girl a slip of paper and whispered, "Relay me sometime." She left, and Kanaya turned back around, blushing furiously.

"Oh! I'll have to include mew on my shipping wall!" Nepeta smiled, tail flicking wildly.

If it was even possible, Kanaya turned even redder. When they reached the room, Kanaya buried her face in the pillow. Her other teammates burst out laughing, despite Equius's efforts to stifle his.


	2. Chapter 2

Her team, after calming down, sat around a table Nepeta had dragged in. “Where shell we start?” Feferi asked, holding a journal open, preparing to write.

Kanaya glanced around the room. It was identical to every Dersian room, as the tour prior had shown. She sighed and cleared her throat. “I say we remodel.”

Everyone nodded, obviously not quite comfortable in the plain, boring, and unfamiliar surroundings. Everyone began to unpack the bags that had been graciously brought to their room. Kanaya, in a Mary Poppins-esque way, took out her wardrobifier. She leaned it against one wall and busied herself with changing what her bed looked like. She laid jade covers over the boring mattress and arranged throw pillows at the head. Each was lovingly embroidered by both her and her mother Virginia. She frowned at the bed. “Do any of you,” she began uncertainly, “have any way to lengthen these poles?” The others looked at her strangely.

“I do.” Equius rummaged in his bag, and Kanaya could see two brown horse-like ears twitch on the top of his head. She averted her gaze as he straightened up and affixed four metal poles to the corners of the bed frame. “Excuse me,” he said after finishing up. “Would you ladies please wait outside as I freshen up?”

Kanaya did see beads of sweat starting to roll down his face. She nodded curtly and obliged, Feferi following. Nepeta was laughing inside the room, and didn’t leave.

“How do you think they know each other?”

Kanaya looked at her and merely shrugged. “Grew up together, possibly. It wouldn’t be that strange. Medium’s a very small kingdom, after all.”

Before they could continue their gossip, the door reopened. Nepeta was on the floor, rolling side to side as she clutched her chest. Her tail was flicking like crazy. Kanaya stepped forward to see if she was hurt, but realized that the girl was laughing. She forced her attention away from her to see… Her bed. But it was draped in a myriad of fabrics, each catching the little sunlight peeking through the window. Midnight black caught the sunbeams and absorbed them, making the fabric appear both darker and shinier than she could ever imagine. Jades and violets coalesced into a garden of masterpieces. She couldn’t stop her jaw from falling out of its set place.

“Holy ship,” Feferi breathed. “Did Equius do this?” 

Nepeta, now recovered, nodded. “Yeah, he’s furr-eaking good with ro-paw-tics and metal. Those are curtains that I re-purr-posed from the spare fabric you had.”

Kanaya recuperated and smiled. “This is amazing.”

“Thank you,” Equius said as he emerged from the bathroom. “But really, it was no effort.”

Kanaya nodded her thanks and moved to a desk that had been previously unnoticed. She set her sewing machine down on it and filled the desk with all manner of sewing supplies. Rolls of fabric, some recently cut, lay propped up against her wardrobifier. Finally, she leaned back and stretched, proclaiming it done to her satisfaction.

She looked at everyone else’s corners of the room, having finished hers. Nepeta had kept her bed more or less the same, but had attached a gigantic olive green curtain over the wall. All kinds of fur pelts covered her small floor in lieu of carpeting. Paint sets were on the desk she had liberated from a classroom. 

Equius’s corner had stacks of towels leaning against the wall. Robots in varying stages of completion laid all over the floor, and more metal parts were contained on a workbench that also had a bulky toolbox atop it. Most notably, in Kanaya’s opinion, was the white centaur stuffed animal that laid on his bed. It looked torn in several places and was sloppily sewn up. She frowned at this.

Pulling herself away from the prospective sewing project, she looked at Feferi’s side. It was as bright pink and bubbly as her personality. Plush cuttlefish lay scattered about the floor, and life-size seahorse dolls were draped over the desk. Carefully crafted balls of glass resembling bubbles hung from the ceiling and shone in a rainbow of colors because of the blue dust contained within them. Her bed was also fuchsia.

She gingerly cradled one of the bubbles. Inside, the dust swirled when she tilted it. “Wow.”

“Thanks!” Feferi’s smile beamed impossibly brighter. “My grandma runs a major dust clam-pony!” Her smile was interrupted when she let out a long yawn. Kanaya glanced at the clock. It was much later than she had assumed. Though, that is just a side-effect of being both diurnal and nocturnal. Nepeta was already changing into pajamas, and Equius had adjourned to the bathroom.

Kanaya politely looked away and stepped into her lovely little bed cave. She changed into a floor-sweeping silk nightgown with slightly flared sleeves. There was no poetic cascade of hair when she removed her hijab, only her fluffing uselessly at her short hair that fell only to the nape of her neck. Too late, she remembered the makeup she wore. She peeked out through the curtains and despaired at the amount of people still awake. She extracted her emergency makeup wipes that never managed to take everything off and did her best. 

When she next woke up, the light pink sunrise was just starting to struggle its way over the horizon. She leapt at the opportunity and left her bed cave, and luckily everyone was still asleep. She styled her hair with practiced skill and did the same to her makeup. She covered her hair with the hijab from the night before, and her wardrobifier switched her outfit to a lovely black and white dress. She left the room and entered the main area. Feferi was just starting to rouse from sleep, Equius was still dead to the world, but Nepeta was fully awake and was in her same outfit from yesterday, but this time she did not wear the trench coat and had swapped the tee-shirt for a tank top.

Kanaya nodded at her teammate and sat at her desk. She glanced over at Equius, who had a vice-like grip on the stuffed centaur. Instead of turning on the loud machine, she decided to simply practice her embroidery. The pillow was for her sister back at home, who had refused to enter the “gender-role enforcing” academy. The message was stitched in jade embroidery floss atop a black lacy pillow that her grandmother had made. 

“What’s cat?” Kanaya jumped in her seat as Nepeta’s ginger hair filled her peripheral vision. She was leaning over her shoulder, carefully keeping herself from touching her. She was thankful for this.

“A pillow for my sister,” she explained. “It will bear her symbol in the corner and will say, In history, ‘Anonymous’ was a woman.”

Equius’s rumbling snores cut off as he awoke. He trudged to the bathroom, obviously still half-asleep, leaving the stuffed horse on the bed. She stood and crossed the room, gently picking up the centaur. She settled herself back down in the chair and switched on the machine.

The loud thunks of the needle through the fabric filled the room. Nepeta amused herself with a swatch of fabric, and Feferi had left the room entirely. Kanaya paid them little to no mind, instead focusing all her attention to her current project. The shower turned on, and she registered subconsciously that she had more time to work. Good. No one likes a rushed job. 

Approximately ten minutes later, the outside door opened. Feferi sashayed in, carrying a cardboard tray of four cups of coffee. “I’ve got caffeine!” She merely nodded, but the other girl rolled over and sprang to her feet. 

She snatched up the cup with “Natalia” written on it and frowned. “Natalia?”

Feferi set down a cup with “Katelyn” written on it atop the table and shrugged. “They all waves spell names wrong.”

Kanaya finally looked up as the bathroom door opened. Just in time, too. She snipped the extra threads and passed the horse to Equius, who was tensed and scanning the room, most likely for the stuffed animal. Her partner passed a coffee to him, too.

“I- Um- Thank you.” He seemed taken aback at the present. “I was unaware that it, uh, needed the work.”

“It didn’t,” she replied smoothly, switching off the machine. “The stitching was awfully sloppy, though. I didn’t want it to end up ripping a seam and having everything fall apart.”

“Uh, guys,” the frog girl interrupted. “Classes start in like, five minnows.”

“And how long is a minnow, exactly?” Kanaya’s eyes sparkled with humor. Feferi laughed, sounding as if bubbles of laughter were bursting free from her throat. The four all gathered their weapons and walked down the halls. Feferi’s walk was closer to a dance, her weight resting on her toes rather than the equal distribution most people have. Each move was loose and airy, as if she was a fairy. Nepeta looked around furtively and her tail perpetually twitched. She moved with quick, precise steps, but they weren’t the elegant ones Kanaya took. No, these were the ones of a girl built for speed and that had lived in a world of “kill or be killed”. Paired with her innocent demeanor, it was disconcerting. Equius was clearly not built for speed. Instead, he fixed the difference with sheer muscle. His feet thumped solidly and confidently into the stone floor. 

It didn’t take long to reach the classroom, and they all sat on a bench in the direct middle of the classroom. Feferi reclined on the bench and immediately began talking on her scroll. She was, besides her complexion and clothes, the perfect image of a basic white human girl. Equius had pulled out binders for note-taking, and Nepeta busied herself with doodling all over the margins of his notes. Kanaya listened and took notes for the most part, but found her eyes wandering to the violet girl in the back corner, who was writing something furiously. 

“Miss Lalonde,” the teacher said, and both girls’ heads snapped up to the old woman at the front of the class. She wore a ridiculous hat, and she sighed at the atrocious fashion. “Could you tell us what the official name is for this creature?” She pointed to an image of a small, roughly humanoid creature with white skin streaked with pink. Small whiskers- or were they tentacles- protruded from its chin.

Rose’s eyes slightly widened in surprise, but recovered in less than a second. “That is a rakham eifrit akhtubut, or a octopus marble imp, and is commonly found in the abandoned sector Lolar Two.”

The teacher nodded in satisfaction. That was the only person that she called on all class, and for the most part the class was a boring lecture. The day dragged on like that; endless lessons on the Sburban beasts and the Grim they would fight. At least, until combat training.

“A’ight, check it,” was the first sentence the teacher said. “Y’all’re here to get schooled on the battlefield, not the classroom. Well, I guess you’re here to do both, ‘cause it’s still a school. But in this class, y’all get to fight. We got aura limits to end the battles, and Nanna here’s a crazy good healer.” The healer was the teacher from earlier. “I’m Dave Strider senior, and my peeps just call me Davesprite. I’m counting y’all as my peeps. First up, let’s get, uh, Vriska Serket and Aradia Megido on the floor, yeah?”

Vriska, wielding a bright blue cutlass, sauntered into the center of the room. The ram-horned girl wandered into the area as well, her expression vacant. She appeared to be unarmed.

“Pleeeeeeeeaaaaaaaase, this’ll be soooooooo easy,” Vriska drawled, and rushed the girl. She stepped aside and hardly reacted. “Come oooooooon!” Vriska’s face was twisted in annoyance. “I’m attacking you, idiot! Doesn’t that make you so MAD?”

The girl raised a hand, and Vriska flew backward. She flipped over in midair and skidded along the ground. “No. I’m okay with it.” 

Kanaya observed in rapt attention. The girl, Aradia, had an extremely powerful Semblance. Vriska charged forward with a battle cry, and managed to slice at her. It bounced off her aura with a burgundy flash of light, and she flew backwards again. She slammed against the far wall of the arena and fell to the ground, panting. She kneeled, and her head snapped up. Her long hair was falling over her one good eye, and she growled. Kanaya almost took a step back. Her aura glowed cerulean blue. A symbol, like an “M” with a pointed tail extruding from the end, flickered into existence over Davesprite’s forehead.

“Stop fighting,” he commanded. She could see Vriska’s lips moving silently in time with his words. “Vriska Serket is-”

He cut off as Terezi tackled her. They wrestled for a moment before she was hauled away. Davesprite was dragging her out of the arena. 

“That’s enough!” He let her go, and she returned to her seat. “Vriska, use your Semblance on the other student, not the judge!” He scowled, dismissing the pair of girls. He sighed deeply and held a palm to his forehead. “Okay. Okay. Let’s get… Kanaya Maryam and Rose Lalonde on the field.”

Kanaya straightened up and strode easily to the center. Rose had crossed her arms and was moving slowly, but her gaze was affixed on her destination. Both reached the arena, and Kanaya uncapped her lipstick, reapplying it smoothly. In the perceived moment of distraction, she stepped forward and stabbed out with her needles. Without missing a beat, her weapon switched into the chainsaw and she brought it down, blocking the attack. Rose leapt backward and sent twin violet beams of light in her direction. She dashed towards her and sliced the beams in half as she jumped into the air and spun. She spiraled towards her and ripped the chainsaw downwards, only to have it ricochet off in a burst of violet. She recovered and slashed at her, but left her side wide open. She hardly flinched at the blunt damage, her aura altering the stab into an experience closer to getting jabbed in the side by a pool cue. Rose readjusted her position a second too late. The loud chainsaw revving gave her the chance to twist out of the way. A purple squid with black, narrowed eyes flicked in and out of view, and she took this to mean her Semblance had activated. Her words seemed distorted and staticky, and spears of violet and black flames lashed out at Kanaya. She rolled to the side, but did get struck by some of the fire. She tore upward with her chainsaw, but was met with a needle jamming the teeth into place. Any of her attempts to free her weapon were in vain. A second needle stabbed out and hit her abdomen. It was dulled by her aura, but a buzzer sounded.

“Rose Lalonde gets the prize!” Davesprite held up one of Rose’s arms in celebration. The healer was already tending to Kanaya’s aura. He glanced at the clock. “Time’s up. See y’all later! Remember, the team team-up is in a week. Enjoy the weekend because for some screwed up reason Skaia starts on a Friday!”

She joined her team, who was chatting eagerly about the event and the weekend. A kid that she recognized as Eridan sauntered up to Feferi and draped an arm over her shoulder. “Here’s hopin’ our teams get to work to-ebba, yeah?”

Feferi laughed nervously, this one higher and more strained than her normal one. “I reely hope so too! How’ve you been?”

“My team glubbing sucks,” he complained. “There’s a stoned clown of a dog and a glubbing obnoxious bee kid who thinks he’s some hotshot hacker.”

“Well, you’ll pro-bubbly learn to love them!” Feferi stepped away cautiously. “Your team’s calling you, you shoald go help them.”

“We never get to spend time any-moar!” Eridan’s accent seemed wobbly and wavy, making the word never sound like newer.

A quiet “chh-sink” noise came from Nepeta. The four others, Kanaya included, turned to look. She had unsheathed her claws. “Mew should purr-obably listen to your furr-iend.”

He glanced at the long and intimidating claws she had pointed at him. “What-ebba. You can’t do ship to me.” Equius took a step back, followed by Kanaya. Feferi looked desperately at her, but she shrugged. He equipped a large harpoon gun and aimed it at Nepeta. “Nobody move. ‘Specially you, horsey.”

Her normally cutesy face twisted into one of anger before smoothing over into a flawless mask. She shrugged off her green coat and crouched down. She paced slowly, waiting for the opportunity. He kept the gun trained on her. She pounced. He ducked and shrieked. The harpoon gun fired. It clanged uselessly against the wall. She cut at his face. His scarf unravelled as her claws cut through it. His aura blocked her attack from breaking skin. She landed and swept her leg along the ground. He fell and landed on his back. She stood back up and hissed, "Don't mew dare speak to Equi-hiss that way." Her tail fluffed up behind her. He scampered off, and Kanaya could see the gills on his neck.

“Thanks Nepeta.” Feferi led team FENK out of the school and through the streets of Medium. “He’s one of my longest and oldest fronds, but he’s gotten more annoying to the point that he’s hard to be around.”

“Well,” Kanaya began hesitantly, “Growing up is hard for everyone. And no one understands.”

Everyone nodded solemnly. The team lost the adrenaline from observing and being in fights, and clouds of negativity wafted over them. They finally left the building and walked through Paradox’s streets. It was late afternoon, and many pedestrians were milling about in the aimless fashion they usually meander at. It hadn’t even been an hour before sirens thundered through the streets. They shared a glance and took off after them.

As they approached the mansion, which was where the sirens were headed, gunshots filled the air. A tide of people retreated, and the four could see the infamous gang, The Felt. Instantly, Nepeta unsheathed her claws, Feferi yanked off her tiara, Equius tugged on a pair of deep blue fingerless gloves, and Kanaya uncapped her lipstick. Feferi’s pastel blue eyes darted over to Kanaya and then into the sky. Her eyes then signalled to Equius to charge straight forward, and for Nepeta to take the left. The Felt were understaffed this time, the members all bore solid colored hats. 

The hats were numbered one through eight. Number one had a solid yellow helmet, the green costume all members wore, and jittered in place. Two had a blue top hat and a much stockier build. Three was a tall man with a peculiar shark mask and a red tricorn hat. Four was the smallest of the bunch and had a purple helmet that rested atop his head as if it was too small. Five wore another shark-like mask, but his was more triangular. His hat was a vivid orange fedora. Six had a darker green top hat and was looking around anxiously. Finally there was number seven, who had a rust-red tricorn hat and wore a permanent scowl. 

Everyone followed her orders. Kanaya unfurled her wings and took to the skies, shooting down at the thieves. Her shots managed to hit number two and number six, but nothing vital was hit. She moved to land atop a roof, but before her shoes even hit the tile five was there. He pulled out a knife and slashed, cutting into her leg. Her chainsaw leapt into her hands and she sliced down- hitting nothing but air. Bullets riddled the roof around her. She rolled to the side. She sprang back into action, ignoring the dull throb in her ankle. Blasts fired down. None hit. She spun to the left. A noise that could only be called a yowl came from beneath her. She dove to the ground and activated the dust in her chainsaw. Stone cycled through the teeth, and she ripped it through six’s torso, only for it to be wasted on air. With just a quick peek, she saw her teammates weren’t doing much better; their attacks couldn’t work on things they couldn’t touch.

“Alright, kiddies,” a voice snarled. “This is a gang fight.” She looked over, and soon regretted her decision as a bullet ricocheted off an aura shield over her heart. It was the equally infamous, yet much smaller, Midnight Crew. The one who had spoken was the leader, Spades Slick. On his left was a tall man in a fine suit and matching hat. Diamonds Droog. On his right was a very short man that even Karkat would tower over. Clubs Deuce. Behind them was the intimidating brick wall of a man Hearts Boxcars, a rather ironic name in her opinion. 

The four teammates disengaged from the brawl. Equius had bruises on his arms, Nepeta was limping badly, but Feferi seemed unharmed. As she walked over, however, it became plain. Her aura was almost entirely gone. The cat girl fell to the ground, but gritted her teeth and stood back up. Equius tried to help, but she shrugged him off. 

A loud ticking filled the air, and Hearts Boxcars growled. She shivered at the malice in his voice. “I hate time travel.”

As Kanaya began to help her team get to safety, Feferi cleared her throat. Everyone’s attention went to her. In the way she straightened her back and held her head high, she commanded power. “Be sure to return the precious cargo that they have stolen.” She led the group away. When they were out of earshot, she relaxed. “Nepeta, is your leg okay?”

“Kit’ll be fine,” she answered, wincing imperceptibly. “I can manage.”

Equius frowned but said nothing. Kanaya was next to speak. “Well, my ankle was cut and I am going to get treatment for it. Perhaps- ahem. Purr-haps,” she got a weak smile from Nepeta, “your leg will just happen to get healed as my ankle is.”

She giggled despite the pain she was trying to hide. 

As they headed off to get help, they were interrupted by a tall, imposing woman that was not imposing in the same manner that Mrs. Queen of Derse was or that Hearts Boxcars was. No, she wasn’t filling the space and forcing them to listen. She just had something unbearably wrong about her. About the way she moved, or maybe it was in the way she carried herself. 

“Where is Spades Slick?”

The team glanced at each other. The woman patiently lit a cigarette on the end of her cigarette holder. They soundlessly agreed not to tell her and continued walking. They hadn’t even taken a step when the woman pressed a gleaming black pistol into Feferi’s chest. She noticed what was so off about this lady. Her eyes were pitch black. She thought she knew about loneliness, what it was like to be totally, completely alone in the world. She thought she knew what pain meant. She thought she knew so many things. She thought she knew what complete and utter darkness was when she looked into the night sky by herself, when her shadow was cast on twisted, gnarled trees at night and people screamed. She was wrong. Dear god, she was wrong.


	3. Chapter 3

“Where is Spades Slick?” The woman repeated herself coolly, as if she was not currently threatening someone’s life. Feferi raised a shaking hand and pointed behind her. She sheathed the pistol and strode past like nothing had happened.

The team glanced at each other and shivered in unison. They all silently marched to the nearest available healer. Over an hour passed before anyone said a word. 

“Who was that?” Nepeta seemed several sizes smaller than normal. Kanaya noticed the obvious lack of cat puns, and Equius hesitantly draped an arm over her shoulder, hugging her close. 

“I,” Feferi started, but stopped. She shook her head remorsefully. The silence continued to drag on as if it was a tiny dog trudging through mud that was almost up to its neck. 

The door swung open with a bang. It was Karkat, his fuzzy white corgi ears bristling in anger. “What happened?” he demanded, two identical scythes drawn. His teammates were in similar states. Sollux, the one with bee wings, had shuriken in his hands and his wings bristled. Eridan, seemingly having forgotten the altercation earlier, had his harpoon gun pointed aimlessly in the lobby. Gamzee’s dark brown eyes were vacant, he seemed relaxed, and he held juggling clubs loosely, but his dog ears stood straight up. Team FENK glanced at each other mutely. Equius was the one who shrugged. She, being among the least injured, got to her feet slowly.

“There was a woman,” she began carefully. “We had just finished fighting at school. Unsurprisingly, Rose had bested me. She’s quite adept at fighting, actually. You wouldn’t think it with the weapons she uses.”

“You’re rambling.” A girl, familiar blonde hair and pale skin, strutted into the room. Her eyeliner was not perfect, but was close. Rose.

“Um, so I am.” Kanaya let the awkward silence that followed drag on for another minute or so before continuing. “We, um, saw the sirens going off so we followed. The Felt was there, and we intervened. Unfortunately, they beat us quite soundly. The Midnight Crew, um, rescued us. As we left we bumped into a woman.” She trailed off and stared down at her feet.

The silence that had begun to dissipate in the room rolled back in an oppressive cloud. Slowly, team KESG left. Rose stepped closer to Kanaya. “May I speak to you in private?” she asked, and she nodded.

In a nearby empty room, she shut the door. “I must apologize for the… secrecy,” she said hesitantly, sitting down on a hospital bed. “It’s just that, well… I’m…”

She sat down next to her, stretching out her wings that were starting to ache from being trapped against her back. “You are?”

Rose opened her mouth to reply, paused, and shook her head. “I’m noticing a spike in gang activity, and I’m getting worried.”

She laughed lightly. “Oh, I don’t mean to laugh at you,” she apologized. “But you forget gangs run rampant here. Legislator Pyrope is doing what she can.”

“What she’s doing isn’t going to be enough!” She stood up furiously and paced in the small room. Kanaya folded her hands in her lap and watched her calmly. “The Felt is acting up and is more powerful than ever, the Midnight Crew are fighting them off but it isn’t doing anything but causing more bloodshed! The rest of Remnant is in chaos, and what are we doing to stop it? Nothing!” She stormed out of the room, and she sighed as the door slammed shut.

The door creaked open, and as the light filtered into the room, she became acutely aware of how dark the room had been previously. “Are mew okay?” Nepeta’s olive green eyes were wide and shone with worry. “There was shouting.”

She nodded, processing what had just happened. She jumped to her feet. “Nepeta, should you really be walking? Your leg isn’t even bandaged and your aura is almost totally gone!”

Her face cleared into an impassive mask. “I’m purr-fectly fine.” She left the room too, and Kanaya held her head in her hands.

After a few minutes, she left the room. No one else was in the lobby, and she sighed again. She walked back to her dorm in silence, this one less oppressive than the one the woman had summoned.

“Heeeeeeeey!” A metallic hand rested over her shoulders. She froze in place, a deer caught in the headlights. Instinctively, her wings flared out and whacked whoever was behind her. “Geeeeeeeez Fussyfangs, why so uptight?”

She turned to see Vriska, who smirked mockingly. “What do you want?”

“Whaaaaaaaat, I can’t just stop and see a new friend that was walking away from a hospital looking like their mom died?”

“My mother’s dead already,” she snapped back. “I’m just not in the mood for any shenanigans.”

Her smirk was wiped off her face. “Jegus, sorry, I didn’t know. You must think I’m suuuuuuuuch a jerk. Nah, my partner sent me. She said something about gangs, not safe for a faunus, etcetera. It was reeeeeeeeaaaaaaaally booooooooring, so I kinda spaced out.”

“Well, thank you for your concern.” Kanaya continued walking down the streets, winding her way back to Skaia Academy. “Or, more appropriately, your teammate’s concern. But I’m wholly capable of taking care of myself.”

“Well, I don’t care about that. It’s almost dark, and people get just plain rude when it’s dark.” A faint blush gathered on her cheeks, but in the gloom she didn’t think the other, much louder girl could see her. 

A flare of staticky green filled the space in front of them, and a man in a green suit materialized. “You are much more of the rude one, miss Serket.”

Her face twisted into one of rage. “You! This was your fault! It’s always you!”

He spread his hands warmly, but his expression never changed, giving it the opposite effect. “And what did I do this time? Take a stroll through the streets of Medium? Take in the sights?” He stepped forward and tapped Kanaya’s shoulder, and she uncapped her lipstick as threateningly as she could.

His eyes cycled through all the colors found on pool balls. In a booming, echoing voice that sent shivers down her spine, he bellowed, “You, Sylph of Space, Kanaya Maryam, will find yourself the one to carry on a legacy. Your friends will die. You will die. But never turn your back on the bodies.” In a low, threatening rasp, he repeated, "Never turn your back on the bodies."

“Back off, Scratch!” Vriska held a cutlass to his throat. “Leave her alone! When have you ever done anything useful?”

A whirring noise came from behind her. Then another, from her left. The sounds were surrounding them. The woman from before stepped forward, and Kanaya averted her gaze. Turning slowly, she saw the entire Felt. Numbers one through fifteen were surrounding them, almost all of them wielding guns. 

“I would let go,” Scratch said conversationally. “They are very trigger-happy.”

Vriska released him and grabbed her empty hand. “Run!” 

They charged past the one with a blue hat and dashed through the streets. The gang was approaching, and Kanaya wrapped her arms around her waist. She unfurled her wings and soared upward, stray bullets filling the sky around her. She couldn’t conceal the blush adorning her cheeks. A bullet, precise as one from a sniper, tore through one of her wings. She cried out as they spiraled down to the ground. Their feet touched down, and Vriska dragged Kanaya up the steps into the school. She gritted her teeth and hauled her into the school.

“Vriska, what are you… What are you doing?” a kid in a wheelchair asked. Bull horns extended about a foot or two from his head. “Do you… Do you need any help?”

“No!” She tugged her into the school. “I’m perfectly fine! Besides, what can you do? You’re just a worthless cripple!”

“But you… um, you look like you’re… you’re struggling with moving her.”

Kanaya’s eyes fluttered closed and she groaned. Looking down, she saw a pool of ruby-colored blood. It took a second for her to realize it was hers. Black dots filled the edges of her vision, and she struggled to stand. Bolts of throbbing pain shot through her wing and travelled down to her back. She whimpered and knelt. Her vision went fuzzy, and she bit her lip. The small fangs she had broke the skin of her lips, and a coppery, metallic taste filled her mouth. Her vision clouded over, and everything faded to black.

“Kanaya!” A face usually covered in a bright smile was marred with concern and worry. Feferi’s hair fell into both of their faces. She spat out some stray strands of her hair, and she brushed it back apologetically. “You’re alive! You had lost so much blood, and we were scared, but you’re alive!”

She sat up slowly, noticing the faint throb from her wing. She flexed them with a noticeable pop, and the others flinched. “My my my,” she said dryly, shaking her head, “I seem to have missed the party invitations.”

“When the nurse said you were awake, that was a nautical pun by the way, we all came down here!” 

Slowly looking around the room, she saw the familiar faces of her teammates. She also saw Karkat, Vriska, and Terezi, each with their respective teammates. “I only know about half of you by name,” she confessed.

Karkat’s ears perked up. “My team is Eridan-”

“We’ve met,” she interrupted coolly, staring down her nose at him. He was polite enough to look embarrassed. His scarf seemed sloppily stitched together, which was a bold move with yarn. Karkat glared at her, and she smiled softly. “I’m sorry Karkat. Please continue.”

“My team is Eridan, who’s got a harpoon gun,” he glared again at Kanaya as if challenging her to interrupt, “That’s Gamzee, who uses juggling clubs, and finally is Sollux, who uses his Semblance and throwing stars.”

The girl with goat horns seemed to snap back to reality. “I’m Aradia. That’s Tavros,” she pointed lazily at the kid in a wheelchair and bull horns, “and I guess you know the Scourge Sisters.”

She nodded and struggled to her feet. Equius rushed forward and pushed her back down into a sitting position. She sighed but complied. 

“You’ve been out furr a week!” Nepeta exclaimed, worried eyes rimmed in a puffy red. “I thought mew put yourself in danger be-claws of how I acted!”

She smiled and beckoned her over. She patted her ginger locks, and she smiled too. “You’re fine. I think the gangs just have something against Vriska.”

Everyone in the room turned to her and stared. She scowled, flipped her cerulean hair over one shoulder, and said, “I have noooooooo idea what you’re talking about! They just saw a pair of faunus and jumped ‘em!”

Terezi frowned and laid a hand on her shoulder. They looked at each other, and she relaxed.

“Hey idiots.” Karkat interrupted the touching moment with his normal shouting volume. “Can we skip all the sappy stuff and get to the team team-up?

“Good. Now I elect myself as leader, because I’m the only competent leader of all three of our teams. Don’t get so huffy, Aradia’s practically brain dead and Feferi’s kinda busy with Kanaya. We’re supposed to investigate this lab way, way out in Veil, which is not the kingdom. We’re investigating the imp-filled, Grim-infested strip of abandoned buildings called Veil. We’re supposed to clear the place out and get rid of anything dangerous. Any questions?”

“Yeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaah, why do you get to be leader? I’m much more qualified than you, shouty,” Vriska argued. She folded her arms over her chest and glared.

“Yeah but you apparently blinded Terezi, paralyzed Tavros, and caused the accident that destroyed Aradia’s temporal lobe.”

“Specifically the amygdala,” Terezi chimed in, smiling wickedly at Vriska, who scowled again.

“Well she’s okay with it!” 

“She’s okay with everything,” Sollux lisped from the far corner of the room. He folded his arms over his chest and his insectoid wings fluttered. “It’s STUPID.”

The room erupted into noise, everyone either trying to get their opinions about the mission heard or trying to calm everyone else down. Her wings ached, unsurprisingly. She turned on her side, and immediately her body screamed at her. The combined might of her pain and everyone’s shouting was starting to wear on her. A dull throbbing started from just behind her eyes. 

Someone loudly cleared their throat, which was lost in the din. A plume of green lightning arched over their heads, and the room fell silent in the way that a band room does mid-song when the brass section plays a note in fortissississimo (that means _ffff_ , for those fortunate enough to never have to play music that loudly). A tall, Amazonian girl with dark skin, curling black hair spiraling to the small of her back, and piercing emerald eyes that didn’t look at you, but instead looked through you, held a rifle up and pointing far over their heads. Kanaya could feel her muscles relaxing at the new quiet.

“Hi!” the girl chirped. Her relaxed state instantly vanished at her high-pitched voice. “I’m Jade! Rose wanted to talk to you guys, so we all came with! It’s a pleasure to meet you!”

“Sup.” A stoic-looking guy with sunglasses over his eyes raised a hand in greeting. He extended his hand in a loose fist, which had no response. Jade giggled and bumped it in return. “Thanks Jade. I’m Dave.”

“Soo cool!” Terezi squealed. “Hey coolkid, can I get your scroll number?”

“Actually, I was thinking we all trade numbers,” Rose suggested, gliding into the room. Her hair was streaked in black, and her outfit was a black dress with a pink ribbon around her waist. “That way, should we encounter trouble during our missions, we can contact each other for help.”

The teenagers all passed out their numbers. Some seemed relevant to their personality, such as Nepeta’s arsenicCatnip and Gamzee’s terminallyCapricious, but some just seemed obscure, like Tavros’s adiosToreador and her own grimAuxiliatrix.

The intercom buzzed. In a haze of static, it barked out, “All teams going on the team team-up, please report to the main hallway.”

With Equius’s help, Kanaya eased out of the bed and hobbled with dignity after the gaggle of faunus. Her wings were folded awkwardly in order to reduce pain but also to fit through doorways. 

They reached the hallway, which was packed with students. Her wardrobifier shifted her dress back to a set of clean clothes. It was a black tee, her symbol in the center, over a black long-sleeved shirt. A floor-length red skirt brushed the ground. Her hijab also changed to a bright jade. She nodded in approval. A lady with black cat ears and of whom was in a bright, vivid pink robe was pointing people to different airships. They approached her, but she shook her head and pointed them to another person. This one had styled ginger hair and mirrored shades. A trench coat that seemed to cycle between colors was over their shoulders, and they held up a fist to bump as they walked over. “So y’all must be the paw-ple I’m escorting.” Sollux returned the fistbump and the teacher smiled. “Hiss yeah. I’m Peeta, purr-onouns they/them. That lady that sent you o-furr here was Jasper. There’s paw-lso Erisol, the grumpy one in green, and Fefeta, the one with goggles. Tavris should be around here somewhere…” Peeta stared around the room for a moment and shrugged. “Anyway, you guys are teams KESG, ATTV, and FENK, yeah?”

Karkat nodded, and they led the group of students into an airship. “Cool. You’re going into the Veil, so you should be purr-ety safe. The three leaders are in charge. You’ll stay there furr about a week, food is supplied so don’t panic.” They shut the heavy iron door with a loud clang, and it shut with an unmistakeable clack. 

The room was plunged into darkness, and most of the faunus in the room panicked. Of course, light, or lack of it, didn’t impede her in any way. She walked over to the light switch and flicked it up. Nothing happened. She sighed and walked further into the ship. Nepeta was following her, as she was one of the others who could see in the dark. Karkat squinted through the gloom, able to make some things out. Of course, neither cats nor dogs could match the night vision of a bat that was not blind. Terezi was hurrying ahead, not at all affected by darkness. She should have expected this. She was blind. 

The small group found the electrical breaker. Terezi used the foolproof strategy of “hit it until it does what you want”. Nepeta, with surprising strength, hauled her off. Kanaya opened the box containing the wires. To her, it was just a mass of colors. 

“Terezi.” She peered into the box and brushed some wires aside. “Do you know anyone good at this sort of thing? Equius is, but he isn’t able to see in the dark.”

“Hey jerkfaces.” Karkat’s demanding voice reverberated through the metal cavernous room. “Maybe you should have asked me for help, seeing as I’m the LEADER.”

Terezi laughed in her typical nasal cackles. “Because Karkat, what use is a leader when he can’t even see?”

He crossed his arms defensively and muttered bitterly, “I can see. Just not as well as you night predators.”

“Seeeeeeee Pyrope?” Vriska’s mocking drawl echoed. “Oh wait, you can’t. You’re blind!”

As she opened her mouth to protest, Sollux cut her off. “Let me guess. You need help with technology. What needs to be hacked?”

“Nothing, it’s a hardware problem,” Kanaya answered, stepping aside. “Are you even able to see in the dark?”

“The insect is unable to,” Equius replied. “But I can see enough to get light working.” He nudged Sollux aside as subtly as he could and fiddled with the wires. A rumbling filled the ship, echoing deafeningly through the room. Kanaya could swear her teeth were rattling and she heard her heart beating in the noise, even as it was slightly muffled from her hijab. Fluorescent lights caused her pupils to contract, everything white for a moment before her sight adjusted to the newfound light.

The rumbling calmed down, but the floor beneath her feet shifted slightly, and she simultaneously felt almost weightless and as if gravity had increased. She recognized this feeling. The ship has taken flight. Everyone, the crisis averted, dispersed. She sat on a metal bench, which was the type of cold that seeps into your entire body, and unfolded her wings to their full width. The wings, which she knew despite looking leathery were actually made of soft skin, were covered in a layer of material. It was frustrating and wasteful to keep her wings covered, but the Qur’an was vague about faunus parts. She moved to take out her scroll, but Gamzee interrupted her. 

“Hey Kan-sis,” he drawled, looming over her. She looked up into his clown-painted, impassive face and looked away almost instantly. “Kar-bro says we gotta meet in the entry hall or something.”

She nodded and stood up, folding her wings back comfortably. She flinched and spread them out of reflex, her wound acting up at the sudden motion. Gamzee led her to the room, which was now packed full of teens. The floor beneath her stopped its almost comforting thrums and she stumbled, the gravity returning to its boring and normal level. He caught her and she muttered her thanks. The door clicked open with a melodramatic “k-shh”.

They had arrived on the abandoned road of Lowaa. White creatures gazed down at them with guarded expressions. 

“I don’t like the look a those white things,” Eridan commented, his harpoon gun in his arms and trained on one of the creatures.

“Dude, forget them.” Karkat dragged him away and led everyone into a lab proclaiming itself “Skaianet Laboratories”. The place was gray and drab. The only things in the room were a timer taking up an entire wall and a pad on the floor in the direct center of the room. The timer read 6:12:04:13, which she took to mean days:hours:minutes:seconds. The seconds slot was constantly decreasing. She supposed that made sense. 

The group curiously piled on the pad. In a puff of familiar green light, everyone vanished. If Kanaya had been observing instead of doing, it would most likely make the sound effect “-alize,” even though that has never been heard in nature.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow people are actually reading this! :) This is my longest fanfic that actually has a plot and that I'm not cringing at myself for (yet). Almost all of it is done during school hours because that's when I need to feel productive but still procrastinate, and that's when my ADHD meds are still working. I'm trying to include as many references, whether they're subtle or obvious. If you have any suggestions on a new title, please tell me in the comments! I'm also trying really hard to depict accurate characters (hint: it's hard. Why do you think I use someone else's characters instead of make my own?) and more human-like interactions with trolls (again: very hard). Okay thanks for reading if there's more chapters read on if not byyyyyyyyeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!


	4. Chapter 4

Karkat’s loud swearing filled the room. They had all emerged in a large room, walls lined with desks and computers. The floor bore a single pad, which had an unusual pattern of overlapping stars.

“So!” Feferi clapped her hands twice, and everyone turned to her. He quieted. “We shoald pro-bubbly break off into teams and investigate these platforms! Sollux, you examine the computers with Equius. Vriska and Terezi, figure out more about the floors above us. Eridan and Gamzee, check out the area outside.”

“Hey,” Sollux interrupted indignantly. “Why do I have to work with the smelly oaf?”

Equius looked down his nose at the scrawny kid with disdain. Nepeta grabbed Equius’s arm and tugged him off towards the stairs. “Equi-hiss and I can look cat the stairs! Paw-radia, mew can work with Paw-lux!”

Feferi gaped for a moment before recovering smoothly. “Karkat and Kanaya, you two check out the platforms. Tavros and…” She counted the people in the room. “Oh! Me!” She giggled lightly. “We can look around the computers in here too!”

“If… if it won’t be… be that much trouble, sure.” 

Everyone split off. Kanaya stepped onto the second platform and instantly vaporized. She stepped off an identical gray platform and turned slowly around the room. In a circle around her, there were twelve more pads. All were gray, but holographic images of their symbols hovered over them. She knelt down by her own corresponding shape. It was an “m” shape with a looped tail and was bright jade. The Virgo symbol in the Tropical zodiac. Karkat appeared behind her, and she jumped at the unusual “-alize” sound.

“By Allah you startled me,” she said, clutching a hand to her chest. “Your symbol is over there.” His gray Cancer symbol was indeed projected over a platform two from her left. She prodded the side of the pad, but it didn’t do anything. As soon as she touched the top, she vanished.

What she presumed to be her room was oddly well-lit. There were no gaps for light to filter through, but it did regardless. Small frog statuettes rested on metal shelves, and fabric was scattered over the floor. She smiled, feeling oddly at home in the room. Candles sat unlit next to the statuettes in a multitude of colors. A book sat on the floor next to the wall, and she picked it up out of curiosity. A plume of colorless dust shot out as she dusted off the cover. It wasn’t marked.

She walked back onto the pad and appeared back in the room of holograms. Gamzee was sitting in the space between pads, head tucked into his chest and making faint honking snores. She shook her head gently and tapped his shoulder.

With a louder honk, his head jerked up. “Sup Kan-sis,” he drawled, getting to his feet. She couldn’t help but marvel at his unusual height. Even slouching he was at eye level with her, and she was a stunning six foot four. He yawned loudly and stretched, bones popping. “Eri-bro is still killing all those mother-” He cut off and blinked at Kanaya, processing something. “Mother-effing,” he corrected, “white birds. They’re getting pretty pi- annoyed, too.”

She nodded contemplatively. “So why are you in here? Didn’t Feferi pair you two up?”

His face fell at the mention of Feferi’s name, but it gave way to his normal drugged look. His ears, however, stood up and bristled. “Yeah, but Eri-bro sent me back in here. Said to look around or something.”

“Would you stand on the platform with your symbol, please?” she asked. Gamzee slouched onto his platform and vanished with the “-alize” sound. Her wings folded back in relief. He wasn’t ever mean, but he was very unsettling. She winced slightly in pain, but ignored it. She stepped on the plain gray pad and entered the computer lab. Most people, after looking at whatever they were supposed to, had congregated in this area. The only ones notably absent were Eridan, Vriska, Terezi, and Gamzee. Karkat started shouting at her, but she ignored it for the most part and only offered an occasional nod.

She sat down at one of the computers. It was ancient technology. Her sewing machine was more complex than this. She tapped at the screen with one manicured nail, but nothing happened. She pressed with her finger, but nothing happened again.

“Seriously?” Sollux asked dryly, swiveling in his chair. “Use the computer mouse. Technologically inept…” He muttered insults under his breath and swiveled back around.

She looked at the desk the computer was on and found a sheet of squares with letters printed on them and a round squashed sphere. She gently slid the sphere over, and the white arrow on the screen moved with it. She assumed this was the “mouse”. She moved the mouse so that the arrow rested over a digital button marked “Relay-tion” and held it over it.

Nothing happened.

“Sollux?” He marched over and glared.

“What?”

“It isn’t working.”

He rolled his eyes and took the mouse from her. He pressed down on one side of the mouse gently, and the screen changed and showed the Relay-tion menu screen. She opened her mouth to thank him, but he was already back in his seat. She signed in as herself and began to relay with Rose.

grimAuxiliatrix [GA] opened relay with tentacleTherapist [TT]  
GA: Hello  
GA: You Asked Me To Relay You If We Discovered Anything  
GA: And Here I Am  
GA: Relaying You  
TT: Yes?  
TT: Save me the rambling, I’m rather busy.  
GA: Oh  
GA: Um  
GA: If Youre Busy I Can Relay You Later  
TT: No, we’re just going to get busier.  
TT: What did you find?  
GA: There Are Strange Pads On The Ground  
GA: Of Course Theyre On The Ground What Am I Saying  
TT: Yes, what are you saying? I certainly can’t make sense of it through your needless babbling.  
GA: Erm  
GA: Sorry  
GA: When You Stand On The Pads Youre Transported Somewhere Else  
TT: Was that so hard to say?  
GA: Uh  
TT: Exactly. I have to go.  
TT: Thank you for the information.  
tentacleTherapist [TT] closed relay with grimAuxiliatrix [GA]  


Kanaya held her head in her hands. She should have known that Rose was busy. She should have waited for her to relay first. Well, there’s nothing she can do about it now. She spun in her chair and stretched out, bones popping. Equius and Nepeta were gone, as well as Tavros. She stretched out her wings and spun back, determined to figure out this unusual and new old technology.

It was a while before she decided to look outside. She wandered the empty streets of Lowaa, encountering no one and nothing besides the creatures perched on almost every street. She flew upward, and the creatures didn’t even flinch. She glided over the abandoned rooftops and circled the section before diving down to the roof of the lab. Terezi sat idly, relaying someone through her scroll she had repurposed as her red cat-eye glasses. Her tail thumped in amusement and she kept throwing her head back and cackling.

“Oh hey Kanaya!” She bared all of her teeth in a facsimile of a smile. “What’s up?”

“Nothing, really,” she replied. She hooked her ankles around a post of some sort and hung upside-down until any vertigo she had calmed down. She fell to the ground gracefully and smoothed her skirt back into place. She was forever grateful that she set her wardrobifier settings to include leggings in every outfit.

“Cooooooool trick, fussyfangs,” Vriska drawled, walking across the roof. “Not bad.”

“Well… I…” She cleared her throat and hoped to God her blush didn’t show too much. “I’ve practiced.”

Terezi opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by a loud roar. All three rushed to the roof’s edge and saw a mob of multicolored creatures. Some were tiny, some were snakelike, but Kanaya was more worried about the ogres marching over the smaller enemies and that reached all the way to the rooftop. She uncapped her lipstick, and she heard the clattering of dice next to her. She looked at Vriska, who rolled a set of eight cobalt dice. Each one was eight-sided. A scythe appeared in her arms. Terezi separated her cane into two blades and held them at the ready. Kanaya shifted her lipstick into her chainsaw. She drew one foot back and flared out her wings.

In unison, the three charged into battle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I made Rose so... rude I guess? She's on her way to going "Grimdark", so... it kinda makes sense.


	5. Chapter 5

Kanaya sliced down with her chainsaw, its roars silencing the ogre’s. It cut into its shoulder, and oily black blood burst from the wound.

It raised a hand to smack her aside. All that hit her was a second spray of blood. Vriska landed after an acrobatic leap that, paired with her scythe, sheared the hand straight off.

Terezi stabbed one of her cane blades in the open shoulder wound and used it as a leverage point to swing down and stab into the damaged arm. 

Kanaya, soaked in blood and out of range of her wardrobifier, snarled darkly. She leapt up, wings flared, and cut deeply into the ogre’s scalp. It howled in pain, but she ignored it. 

Vriska finished the job with a well-placed slash with her scythe. It shrieked out one final, rattling breath before dissolving into a gush of black oily blood. Kanaya scooped Terezi up and deposited her on the roof.

The others were holding their own as well. Each one cooperating as not only a team, but also a machine. Karkat was cleaving his way through hordes of imps, Eridan was shooting well-timed blasts from his harpoon gun, Sollux was lifting enemies high into the air with his Semblance and throwing shuriken at the beasts, and Gamzee was whacking away any that approached with surprisingly powerful swings from his juggling clubs. 

Equius and Nepeta fought back-to-back, each utterly obliterating any that stepped into range. Her claws looked as if they could slice through lead, and he seemed strong enough to dent, if not break, solid iron. Feferi was expertly spinning her trident, alternating between smacking the beasts with the dull sides and stabbing through them with the gleaming points.

Aradia was next to Tavros and looked to be fighting half-heartedly. Her Semblance kept anything from getting remotely close to them. Tavros had a lance in one hand and held the other up to his temple. Small brown circles with pointed horns appeared over some of the beasts, and those beasts turned on each other. 

As Kanaya was distracted watching the battle, an ogre grabbed her around the waist and lifted her into the air. A blur of teal blue streaked past her, and the ogre bellowed in pain. She switched her chainsaw back to lipstick and shot a volley of jade-colored bullets at the hand keeping her still with a vice-like grip. The grasp loosened, and she altered her lipstick into a chainsaw again, slicing deep into the pitch black flesh. 

It let go.

She tumbled down to the ground far, far below. She only vaguely heard Terezi’s and Vriska’s shouts. She spun around, angling her legs at the ground, and unfurled her wings. They caught the wind and she glided to the ground, landing next to Feferi.

Feferi opened her mouth to give orders, but paused to stab through the heart of an imp scuttling nearer. “Swarms!” she cried out, spitting out some black oil. “Help Equius!”

She didn’t need to be told twice. She dashed forward and sliced through imp after imp after imp, tearing her way through the crowd to get to his side.

“Where’s Nepeta?” she asked, panting for breath. She ducked as he sent an imp flying over her head. She flared her wings and whacked two imps in the face and spun, curling her wings in as she went. She snapped her wings back open, and the imps shot out and smacked into more imps.

“Helping- excuse me,” he apologized just before punching a white imp in the face. “Helping Vantas.”

Kanaya nodded and tore through a basilisk. The pair kept the imps at bay and slowly edged their well-guarded way toward the lab.

Others were starting to position themselves around the building as well. Any imps that got within ten feet found their necks snapped by her muscular bat wings, and the ones that got past were met with fists and chainsaws. 

The sound of battle was deafening. Her feet slid on the oily blood coating the stone streets, and she tripped. She rolled to her feet and sighed at the outfit now damaged beyond repair. She sliced through what felt like thousands of imps before finally, there was silence.

Everyone stared at each other, each in varying states of dishevelment. Across the battlefield Kanaya could see Karkat’s normally fluffy, newly fallen snow ears were instead dark gray matted tufts that lay flat along his hair. Sollux was tending to a torn wing, and she grimaced, remembering the pain that she felt when her wing was shot. As if on cue, pain cut a jagged trail through her wing. She gasped in pain and fell to her knees. Feferi rushed to her side and gently held the damaged wing.

She clucked her tongue disapprovingly. “You over-exerted it,” she reprimanded, pulling a first-aid kit out from seemingly nowhere. She poured a bitter-smelling liquid over it, and she couldn’t hold back a cry of agony. She batted her wings fiercely, knocking Feferi back.

Her wings were pinned behind her back. She noticed the fabric had torn, but didn’t panic. Wings were an iffy subject in the Qur’an and it was fine if they showed. She tried to flare her wings, but couldn’t.

“We’re trying to help you!” Feferi dumped more of the horrible disinfectant over the wound and wrapped it in a makeshift bandage. 

“Heeeeeeeey, is Miss Fussyfangs okay?” Vriska’s hair was flecked with the dark, unnatural blood and her prosthetic arm was practically coated in it. She stopped struggling and looked at her in awe of the… beauty isn’t the right word. Closer to stunning and terrifying. She bit her lip as Feferi tied the bandage tighter. 

“Let’s get inside to regroup,” Equius suggested, letting go of Kanaya’s wings. 

Everyone congregated in the main room. She scanned the motley group, noticing no major injuries. Nepeta’s hair was in disarray, but nothing was torn; Aradia’s aura was all but gone, but she had no injuries and she was clean; Tavros’ legs were bleeding badly but besides that he looked okay, his horns doused in the oily black blood; Terezi’s tail was covered in the blood and her eyes were a solid bright red; Equius was soaked in sweat, his knuckles bleeding from being split open; Gamzee was pitch black from the neck down and his facepaint was horrifically smeared; Eridan was mostly alright as he had taken the role of sniper; and blood was tangled in Feferi’s hair and covered her bare feet.

Equius handed towels out to everyone, who all gratefully accepted.

“What was cat?” Nepeta asked, toweling off her ginger hair.

Karkat spat out a disgusting glob of the blood. “A horde of imps, ogres, and basilisks,” he replied, trying in vain to get the oily blood off his ears. “Hell if I know why they all chose this dumb place over the next.”

loud resounding “HONK” filled the room, and everyone jumped. Gamzee had dumped a pile of bike horns near the center of the metal chamber. 

“What is the meaning of this poppycock?” Eridan stood up indignantly. “At least I have the cod damn decency to keep my personal belongings out of the way of everyone.”

“Aww, come on Eri-bro, it ain’t that bad,” Gamzee slurred. “Have a nap in the horn pile.”

“Come on, Eri-fin.” Feferi giggled and guided Sollux onto the pile. A second obnoxious “HONK” echoed, and Eridan’s face visibly fell. He stalked off in a huff, and Feferi shook her head and began whispering conspiratorially to Sollux while fixing his wing.

Kanaya left and headed to her room, already opening Relay-tion on her scroll. She hovered over Rose’s handle, but thought better of it. She started to tuck her scroll back into her skirt pocket, but it buzzed in her hand. She opened it, hoping that Rose’s lovely violet text would fill her screen. Instead, she was met with light green words, several shades lighter and brighter than her own.

gardenGnostic [GG] has opened relay with grimAuxiliatrix [GA]  
GG: hey are you ok??  
GG: rose said she yelled at you! :(  
GA: Yelled Is Not The Proper Word  
GA: Besides Im Fine  
GA: If She Doesnt Want Anything To Do With Me Thats Fine  
GA: Perfectly Fine  
GG: hmmm…  
GG: if you say so!  
GG: she wants to apologize, but she’s too stubborn!   
GG: you’re probably going to need to make the first move…  
GG: before she gets too involved!  
GA: Involved In The Gangs You Mean  
GG: yeah!!!  
GG: usually people don’t know what i’m talking about!  
GG: so how do you?  
GA: Its Complicated  
GG: not really!  
GG: i mean, things are never as complicated as we make them out to be!  
GA: Youre Certainly Confident  
GA: Some Of My Friends Would Benefit From Such Confidence  
GA: And Some Need Much Less  
GG: so??  
GG: how do you know things like i do?  
GG: :?  
GA: I Lucid Dream  
GG: woah me too!!! :0  
GG: that’s so cool!  
GG: how’d you start?  
GA: A Man Showed Me How  
GA: I Dont Remember Honestly  
GG: i get what you mean!  
GG: my grandpa built me a robot to help!  
GG: i’m narcoleptic, and the robot helps me communicate when i’m asleep!  
GG: one thing led to another, and well…  
GG: you get it! :)  
GA: I Do Actually  
GG: oops gotta go!  
GG: we need to relay more often!  
GG: bye! <3  
gardenGnostic [GG] closed relay with grimAuxiliatrix [GA]

Kanaya couldn’t help the smile creeping up on her like a tackle-pounce from a best friend into a pile of sugar-cube sized cubes. She stepped onto her platform and pulled out her suitcase, which only held a case for her weapon in both forms and a set of backup clothes. She fought with the clothes for an entire hour before managing to not only relieve herself of the stained and ruined clothes but also get her new, clean clothes on. Too late, she realized that her clean clothes would just become dirtier because she was also drenched in the oil. She groaned and got her clothes back off. She rummaged through her bag and tugged out a soft jade bathrobe and wrapped it around herself. She flipped the robe’s hood up, which was longer than the formal wizard cloak hoods, and made her way through an impossible maze, finding herself back at the start several times in a way that, had she not been feeling uncomfortably exposed carrying a bundle of clothes in a solid metal and stone facility, would have been vaguely comical. Finally, she reached the bathroom, only to find a sign on it reading, “occupied.” She groaned and tapped her foot impatiently. A loud crash came from inside the room, followed by a moan of pain and a sigh of what sounded like exasperation. She knocked.

“Are you alright in there?” she called. 

Tavros’s hesitant, faltering voice called back, “Yeah. I just… oh god this is going to sound so stupid, I just…”

His voice trailed off, and Kanaya let the silence drag on past a few casual seconds before replying, “Fell?”

“Uh, yeah.” The door eased open, revealing the meek bull boy lying face down, fully clothed with his hair wet and trickling into his eyes. 

She tittered softly and draped his arm over her shoulder, levering him back up into his wheelchair. “There. Is the bathroom open?”

He nodded and wheeled his way through the corridors. She stepped into the sparsely furnished bathroom and set her clothes gently on the floor. She disrobed and turned on the shower, washing away her worries temporarily in the stream of hot water. She ran her hands through her short dark brown hair, which was miraculously saved from the oil. She got herself mostly cleaned off and stepped back out, steam filling the mirror. She dried off her chocolate brown skin to the best of her ability and wrestled with her clothes. This only took about half an hour because her wings were much more cooperative this time. God she missed her wardrobifier.

She cleared away some fog from the mirror and grimaced at her reflection. She took out her complete makeup kit and set about removing her ruined makeup.

After another half hour, she finally finished evening out the eyeliner wings. She stepped out of the bathroom to find a line of her friends all eagerly awaiting their turn. As soon as she got out of the way, they charged, making it a free-for-all. She skirted the mayhem and returned to her room, checking the time on her scroll and seeing if she had missed any messages. It was very late, but she really didn’t want to take off her half-hour’s worth of cosmetic artistry. She didn’t bother changing; she was out of clean clothes.

She covered her face in a mask and curled up in her bed to sleep.

It wasn’t an easy task. Every ten minutes she had to readjust because a wing was trapped beneath her uncomfortably, or her wings were sticking out of the blankets, or her chest was mushed into the mattress. She did manage to settle into an uneasy sleep. At least, for a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Jade is so fun to write! I get to mix vague with exclamation points and emojis! Anyway, I've got more chapters in production and will probably be writing less over the holidays. Yeah, I know, it's backwards. But hey, I need something to blow off my essays with that still looks productive!


	6. Chapter 6

She arose to the incessant buzzing of her scroll. Opening it, she saw a list of messages in a deep blue from centurionTraining, or Equius.

centurionTraining [CT] opened relay with grimAuxiliatrix [GA]  
CT: D--> Miss Maryam  
CT: D--> I must recr001t your e%pertise  
GA: What E%pertise  
GA: I Used Your Quirk To Emphasise My Question  
GA: It Brought Me A Quiet Moment Of Joy As I Wake Up  
CT: D--> I have offered to construct the crippled lowb100d a set of legs out of roboti%  
CT: D--> I need your e%pertise in chainsaws  
GA: I Am Almost Afraid To Ask Why  
GA: But I Will Regardless  
GA: What For  
CT: D--> I am unable to separate the legs from the lowb100d’s body  
CT: D--> Not without incurring e%cessive injuries for him  
GA: I See  
GA: You Need Me To Cut His Legs Off  
GA: Do You Have His Consent  
CT: D--> He a%ed me to do the procedure  
GA: Axed  
CT: D--> Asked  
GA: I Will Be In The Main Room Momentarily  
CT: D--> I will await your fort001tous arrival  
GA: I Feel Obligated To Tell You That That One Was A Stretch  
CT: D--> Than% for the comments  
CT: D--> I will keep my words more concise  
centurionTraining [CT] closed relay with grimAuxiliatrix [GA]  


Kanaya gently pulled off the mask and discarded it, hurrying through the halls. She emerged in the room to see Equius holding up a pair of very impressive robot legs. Terezi was typing furiously nearby, and she made out cherry red text mixed with her turquoise.  


“He’s asleep?” she asked him in a whisper. He nodded. She switched her lipstick to a chainsaw and sliced through the well-tanned skin just above his pelvis. A fountain of blood erupted from the wound, and she continued cutting until he was effectively cut in half. Equius immediately set about attaching the implants, and she noticed Vriska slipping into the room and grabbing the legs. She stared sideways at her, who pressed a finger to her lips.  


Karkat chose one hell of a time to walk in. He took in his seemingly dead friend, her bloodstained chainsaw, and the expanding pool of blood on the ground. “WHAT THE EVERLOVING FU-” was all he could get out before fainting, collapsing on the horn pile with a loud “Honk.”  


She capped her chainsaw and began to help clean up the blood. “When did you find the time to work on these?” she marveled, running her hand over the metal shin.  


“I’ve found myself with an excess of time,” he confessed, straightening up. “I also made a robot for Aradia’s soul. Perhaps it could help her be more… expressive.”  


She nodded in understanding and finished cleaning the blood. Everyone else walked in, just as Tavros and Karkat came back to reality. Equius murmured something to Aradia, who shrugged and followed him out and into the maze.  


“What were you thinking?” Karkat exploded, turning his endless fury to Kanaya. “You don’t just cut up our teammates!”  


“Hey…” Tavros carefully stood up, aided by Kanaya. “I… I can walk. I can walk!”  


Terezi spun in her chair and cackled. “Dave says he’s warning you about the stairs.”  


“Who’s Dave?” he asked, maneuvering his way over to her computer.  


“It’s the insufferable prick,” Sollux explained, taking his rightful place behind a computer. “The one TZ’s hitting on.”  


A key from a keyboard flew across the room and smacked him on his head. He scowled and turned back to the computer.  


Everyone dispersed. Kanaya sat by the computer she used last time and opened Relay-tion.  


As she debated who to talk to, Aradia and Equius entered the room. The ram girl was now in a steely metal robot body, her synthetic eyes a bright blue. She sat by a computer two away from Sollux, and Equius tinkered in the corner.  


Kanaya decided not to talk to anyone in particular, just as Eridan walked over and leaned over her shoulder. “Hey Kan,” he started. She sighed and closed Relay-tion.  


“How can I help you?” she asked, turning her attention to him.  


“I need a powerful weapon, and your chainsaw is the best I’ve seen around. I was hopin’ you cod make a new one for me.”  


She frowned imperceptibly but nodded. She thought for a moment, just long enough for Eridan to become uncomfortable, before a mischievous smirk wormed its way onto her face. “I could make you the most powerful wand.”  


He scoffed. “Magic isn’t reel.”  


Another idea came to her. “No, but I can make you an incredible wand of science, one that can best anything in its path.”  


His eyes lit up. She led him through endless corridors until she wandered into a place full of machinery. She hooked up bits of metal and invoked more than a little magic until an ornate white wand lay on a gray platform. He snatched it triumphantly and flounced off to the main room. She shook her head condescendingly and pulled out her scroll.

grimAuxiliatrix [GA] opened relay with tentacleTherapist [TT]  
GA: This Is Unfortunately Not A Pleasure Call  
GA: I Think Your Plan Is Very Dangerous  
GA: And So Are You  
TT: Oh?  
GA: Yes  
GA: And  
GA: Im Afraid I Am Going To Have To Devote All My Efforts To Stopping You  
TT: I'm sorry to hear that, Kanaya.  
TT: What did you have in mind for this new and exciting adversarial phase of our relationship?  
GA: Im So Glad You Asked  
GA: You See  
GA: I Have Been Training A Powerful Wizard  
TT: !  
GA: Yes Your Shout Pole Is Like A Tower Broadcasting Your Fear Across Remnant And You Are Right To Be Afraid  
GA: I Have Commissioned None Other Than The Legendary Prince Of Hope And I Am Teaching Him The Ways Of White Sorcery  
GA: I Have Observed Your Methods And You Will Come To The Most Unwelcome Realization That All Of Your Guile And Cunning Has Finally Backfired  
GA: This Noble Magician Of Pure Light Will Serve As The Counterpoint To Your Arcane Debauchery  
GA: He Will Hunt You Down And Goodness And Hope Will Prevail  
TT: Is it too late to throw myself at your mercy?  
GA: Yes Its Much Too Late For That  
TT: I see.  
TT: Then clearly I will have to prepare for this soul sundering duel, whilst making my own funeral arrangements.  
GA: Oh Yes I Do Believe Securing A Corpse Box Would Be Prudent  
GA: Fitted To Dimensions Suited To Your Myriad Of Unassembled Leaky Body Parts In Aggregate  
TT: What will herald the arrival of this swift and righteous thaumaturge?  
TT: Will I be blinded by the fearsome lashes of light ribboning from the incandescent coastline of his beauteous aura?  
TT: Should I borrow my friend's sunglasses?  
GA: Yes Definitely  
GA: Definitely Do That  
GA: Wait I Hope That Wasnt Too Emphatic  
GA: Maybe At This Point I Should Clarify This Is All A Big Joke  
TT: Yeah.  
TT: I was getting that.  
TT: You don't always have to tip your hand, Kanaya. You were doing well.  
GA: I Was  
TT: Mm-hm.  
GA: Okay Great  
GA: I Think What I Find Most Challenging About Human Insincerity Based Humor Is The Degree Of Commitment To The Fantasy Which Is Apparently Requisite  
TT: We take it very seriously.  
GA: I Mean To Say  
GA: The Gesture Of Hostility In This Case Was The Joke  
GA: I Did In Fact "Train" This Character  
GA: I Made Him A Wand To Shut Him Up  
TT: Wait, you did? Really?  
GA: He Wouldnt Stop Harassing Me For Some Powerful Weapon  
TT: That's incredible. Well done.  
GA: Hes The One With The Royalty Complex And Speaks With All The Extra Vees And Doubleyous  
TT: Oh, I knew exactly who you were talking about from the start.  
GA: Okay  
TT: I must say, this little project pleases me.  
TT: Do keep me apprised of all further developments.  
GA: Okay I Will  
grimAuxiliatrix [GA] closed relay with tentacleTherapist [TT]  


She stood up, flexing her wings. The pain was almost entirely gone, which was highly unusual. She strode back to the main room, just in time to see Aradia’s new robotic form explode. She jumped and rushed forward.  


“What happened?” She examined the debris carefully, but she couldn’t make heads nor tails of the wreckage.  


“She bot-sploded,” Sollux lisped, his face totally impassive. Feferi had an arm around him and they both were back in the horn pile. Equius was stoically standing at the other side of the room, his jaw open from the shock. Nepeta was clutching his arm.  


Everyone seemed in shock from the explosion. “Did she tell anyone she’d do this?” Kanaya asked, looking at Equius. He shook his head slowly, and Nepeta led him out of the room.  


“Well who the FUCK cares, anyway?” Sollux asked bitterly, folding his arms guardedly over his chest. His wings were almost straight out behind him, and they emitted an intimidating buzzing.  


"Sollux!” Feferi reprimanded, appalled at the language. She curled around him and whispered, and he visibly relaxed.  


Kanaya, sensing she couldn’t do much here, went to the side of her longest, closest, and shortest friend Karkat. His corgi ears were folded down, and she couldn’t keep herself from petting them.  


“Kanaya!” he whined, and she stopped. “Thank you. I just…” He fell silent and pressed his face into her abdomen. She stroked his head, and his arms snaked around her and pulled her into a hug. They stayed this way for a while, no one daring to talk.  


Eventually Karkat broke away, oddly quiet for what had happened. “We shoald get some rest,” Feferi suggested, untangling herself from the horn pile. Sollux, who had drifted off to sleep, jumped as the horns’ loud honking sounded from her movements. “Sea-riously, it’s late.”  


Everyone mumbled agreements, and Kanaya checked the time on her scroll. Several messages from Rose and Jade filled her screen, and Vriska had messaged her as well. It was indeed very late, and she couldn’t help but wonder where the time had gone. She adjourned to the bathroom to rid herself of the makeup and practically fell into her bed, emotionally drained.  


She tossed and turned on the mattress, her wings refusing to cooperate or compromise. Eventually she gave up and ambled through the halls aimlessly. She missed her blue dream world of her design. She circled back to the main room, where Karkat was napping. Feferi and Sollux were also still there, making no attempt to control their volume.  


When she entered, the pair fell silent. She ignored his accusatory stare and knelt next to Karkat. She poked his cheek, and the only response was a long snore not unlike the sounds her chainsaw made. She smiled softly and patted his ears.  


“Pleasant dreams, friend. That is, if you can hear me in your dreams,” she whispered. He made no movement. “Ha ha you probably can’t.” She stood up and sat by one of the ancient computers. Someone, without a name, was messaging her.

opened relay with grimAuxiliatrix [GA]  
Hello.  
GA: Who Are You  
No one. At least, no one important. Or, more accurately, the most important person in the multiverse.  
GA: Where Is Your Text And Your Handle  
I don’t have a handle, and I don’t require one. My text is in the most fitting color of all: white. Lovely, isn’t it?  
GA: What It Is Is Frustrating  
GA: Frustrating And So Utterly Tedious  
You don’t have much appreciation for higher powers, do you?  
GA: I Do  
GA: Youre Not A Higher Power  
But I am.  
GA: I Dont Have Time For This  
GA: Who Are You  
You don’t know? We’ve met before. Several times, in fact. I am Doc Scratch, the chess master in this odd life. In fact, I sent the creatures after you. Did you like them?  
GA: Not Really  
No appreciation for a good host. And as we all know, I am an excellent one.  
GA: I Dont Have Time For This  
GA: Goodbye  
I say when this is over, Miss Maryam. And as of late, it is not. My calculations say that we will keep talking for another five minutes. And as for time, well, you are correct to say you don’t have it.  
GA: Wait What  
Remember that little timer? The one now reading four days and thirteen hours? I wonder what that leads to. Or should I say, you wonder. I know what it counts down to.  
GA: What Does It Count Down To  
The reckoning. The dark carnival. The ultimate destruction. Good luck.  
has closed relay with grimAuxiliatrix [GA]  


Kanaya stepped back from the computer. “Sollux?” she asked. He looked up at her lethargically.  


“What?”  


“Can you trace this Relay-tion signal?”  


"Sure.” Sollux stood and, with a honk, left the horn pile and sat down in the swivel chair. “Is this just you talking to yourself?” Without giving her a chance to answer, he continued, “Oh. This douchebag just types in white. That’s STUPID.”  


She waited for a while as he tapped at the keys, awkwardly glancing around the room. His reflection in the monitor frowned, and he spun back around.  


“Nothing.” His words were clipped and concise, as if he was frustrated with it. “I tried everything but it didn’t work. DAMMIT.”  


Kanaya shrugged and he returned to the horn pile, complaining at the honking noise. She sat in the corner for what felt like an eternity, just watching the boring computers. She didn’t join Feferi and Sollux, despite her teammate’s offer. It felt too private for that.  


The muffled atmosphere of the room broke as soon as Eridan transported in with the signature “-alize” sound effect. He strode confidently over to Kanaya, each step as purposeful and deliberate as a king’s.  


“I wanted to thank you again for the white science wand,” he announced. Karkat started to stir in the corner of the room. “And if you need any fin, I got your back.”  


“You’re quite welcome.” She smiled back and pulled her scroll out of her pocket.  


He scowled. “Fin, I get the hint.”  


“What hint?” she asked, perplexed.  


“You just don’t wanna talk to me, I get it.” Her blank stare continued, and his scowl deepened. “I ain’t glubbing stupid, you know. When people take out their scrolls, they’re endin’ conch-versations. Is it too much to ask for a bit of attention in this dumb buildin’? I was out there killin’ all those white things by my shelf, and none a’ you came to kelp except for Gam, and he’s fuckin’ high!”  


She was taken aback by his rant, and sat there processing. “We were-”  


“Busy, yeah, I get it,” he interrupted. He crossed his arms, the jewelry on his hands and arms glittering and dripping importance. “Too busy for dumb Eri-fin. He doesn’t need any bubbly.”  


“Oh my cod!” Feferi cried, and Sollux frantically tried to get her to sit down. “Just shut up, Eri-fin! No moby wants to hear it!” Small honks punctuated her speech as she shifted and stamped her feet. Even this late in the night (Or Was It Early Morning By Now? Kanaya wondered, but shook her head to keep on track), Feferi had makeup over her pale blue eyes, just beneath her goggles. For some reason, said goggles didn’t damage the long eyelashes that extended to the goggles’ fuschia frames.  


Eridan gasped, as if the one small phrase had insulted his mother, his mother’s mother, his future children, his children’s children, and the children of his children’s children. How he could convey all this through a gasp she would never know. It was a very expressive gasp. “How DARE you!” he bellowed, and Kanaya’s wings folded behind her in an involuntary sign of submission. On reflex, she took half a step back and Flinched™.  


“Because!” Feferi shot back, hopping out of the horn pile. Now, instead of horns to punctuate her words, the slap of her webbed feet did. “You have done nothing but complain since we arrived here! I am sick of kelping you! All you do is bring down the mood I try so GLUBBING HARD to keep happy!”  


“Well I don’t need you!” Eridan uncrossed his arms and held his white science wand tightly, pointing his empty hand at her accusingly. “I never needed you! YOU needed ME to keep your mom outta your hair! But if you reely think that he-” he turned his wand on Sollux, “Can do any betta than me, FINE!”  


Sollux stalked next to Feferi and removed his 3-D glasses. Two heterochromic eyes, one blue and one a bright red, glared at Eridan’s ocean blue ones. “Don’t even test me, fish boy.”  


“Tetht,” he parroted, imitating his lisp. “That’s what you sound lake, you stupid honeybee! I bet you don’t even have a stinger!” He glanced down pointedly, and Sollux’s eyes sparked.  


“That’s it!” He lunged at him, tackling him to the ground. The boys wrestled, weapons and Semblances forgotten. The metallic clangs echoed through the entire lab, and soon everyone came running. Karkat was trying, and failing, at pulling Eridan away. Gamzee caught Sollux up in a bear hug, pinning his arms to his sides and his wings to his back. Kanaya winced. Wings that fragile should not be crumpled like that.  


She helped Karkat haul Eridan away from the fight. Feferi was absolutely livid, her normally tranquil face screwed up in anger. Her eyes were narrowed so much that her eyelashes almost mixed with the concealer over her bags under her eyes. The bottom of her pale blue irises were barely visible. Her filled-in Pinterest eyebrows were no longer arched, but instead were furrowed. Kanaya could see her biting into her lip each time she closed her mouth, and what she could see of her eyes were shining with restrained tears.  


Both Sollux and Eridan were rendered speechless by her stern and commanding tone. Her normally peppy and cheerful voice was now sharp and cut through them like knives. When she turned her back, they glared daggers at each other, but when she faced them they simply stared down guiltily at their feet. She stormed off, her skirt whirling out around her, her anklets and bracelets jangling with every step.  


Everyone was left not knowing what words to say before Kanaya released Eridan and walked hesitantly back to her computer. The person with the white text hadn’t sent back a follow-up, for which she was grateful. She smoothed her now days-old and wrinkled skirt as best she could and sat at the desk.  


caligulasAquarium [CA] opened relay with grimAuxiliatrix [GA]

She spun in her chair and caught a glance of Eridan typing furiously at his computer in the corner. She rolled her eyes and humored him.

CA: kan make her talk to me do somethin  
GA: Who  
CA: your no good connivvin fuckin backstabbin girl crush thats wwho  
GA: Overstating Our Relationship Wont Make Me Feel Very Cooperative  
GA: Were Just Friends Ok  
CA: pshhhhhh that is a fuckin laugh and you knoww it evveryone does  
CA: so help me out tell her to talk to me i think she blocked me you got to  
GA: Why Do I Got To  
GA: I Dont Got To And Every Time You Take My Help For Granted I Feel Like I Got To A Little Less  
CA: wwhatEVVER you are so the vvillage twwo wwheel devvice wwhen it comes to breakin up arguments  
CA: you cant let a grudge go by you wwont stick your hand betwwixt so get wwith the program fussyfangs  
GA: If Your Slander Werent So Predictable Id Block You Too For Saying That  
GA: Has It Occurred To You She May Have Blocked You Because You Are Vvery Ovverbearing  
GA: I Just Said That Aloud Now In Your Silly Accent And Had A Private Moment Of Enjoyment  
GA: You Heard It I Know You Did  
CA: wwho givves a shit wwhy she blocked me or about my fuckin manners come on youvve got a wway wwith her  
CA: i figure if youre going to get betwween any twwo brinesuckers wwho sneer at each other a funny wway you might as wwell make it official and be ours right  
GA: Your Solicitation Just Seems Really Indecent  
GA: What Do You Want From Her Anyway  
CA: she made me somethin per a prior arrangement  
CA: she wwill delivver it wwhen wwe meet in this lab but i dont knoww wwhat the logistics are yet  
CA: im tryin to connoiter wwith her here but shes blowwin me off again fickle dirtscrapin landhag  
GA: What Is It  
CA: kan stupid wwhat do you think its a fuckin gizmo to bloww up the wworld or somethin  
CA: ok wwell not that obvviously  
CA: but somethin thatll kill all land faunus wwhat else wwould i be after  
GA: Can You Just For A Moment Entertain The Thoughts Of One Untouched By Megalomaniacal Derangement And Tell Me Why Id Want To Assist You With That  
CA: wwell  
CA: im not goin to vvery wwell kill you am i that wwould be fuckin unconscionable  
CA: wwhat kind of friend wwould i be  
GA: Also Speculate For A Moment That Self Preservation Might Not Be What Would Sway My Decision  
CA: yeah go ahead and kiss us off but therell be blood on your hands  
CA: you could either play along and do a little mediating like you wwere fuckin born to  
CA: or wwatch she and me devvolvve into fuckin full fledged enemies the kind like you dont get once in ten thousand years  
CA: you knoww thats wwhat it wwould be there wwould be rainboww rivvers runnin through star systems and all nebulizin like liquid firewworks  
CA: it wwill be beautiful and heartbreaking all at once  
CA: you should read up on your history instead of poring through that godawwfull vvampire rubbish  
GA: Its Just  
GA: Laborious Listening To This  
GA: Im Sorry  
GA: None Of It Matters  
CA: yeah it does its important sorry but the fate of the race and purity of the bloodline is important excuse me for being concerned  
GA: I Know  
GA: But You Really Should Know By Now The World Will End Soon Regardless  
GA: Land Faunus And Sea Faunus Alike Will All Die  
GA: Because Of The Mission We Are On  
GA: And I Agree The Fate Of The Race Is Important But Its In My Hands Now  
GA: All Of Ours Really  
CA: huh  
CA: wwell ok  
GA: Really  
CA: ordinarily id call bullshit on terrible stinkin bs like that but i knoww you dont really lie about stuff  
CA: unless its to yourself  
CA: but thats wwhy i bother evven talking to you i wwouldnt evven be here SAYIN any of this otherwwise  
CA: so did your dreams tell you that  
GA: The Doomsday Scenario In Particular  
GA: No Not Exactly  
CA: i got dreams and they dont tell me SHIT they hide nothin but misfortune and monstrosities  
CA: fuckin pain in the ass fuckin dreams  
CA: so howw do you knoww then  
GA: I Have Another Source  
CA: ok wwell you are jacked tight the fuck into this thing in so many wways i dont knoww wwhat to say anymore  
CA: wwhatevver wwe wwill just play and find out i guess  
CA: so can you tell her to talk to me anywway  
GA: No  
CA: god dammit  
CA: she and me are teammates wwevve got to havve a powwwwoww or SOMETHING  
GA: You Arent Actually On The Same Team  
CA: fuck  
CA: fine i get it ill step off  
CA: you dont wwant to be the one to mediate cause you dont wwant to get locked into that sort of relation wwith her i can respect that  
GA: No Thats Not It  
CA: yeah it is your real feelins run pretty awwful RUDDY methinks evverybody knowws it  
CA: especially that assblood karkat he and me havve you so pegged about that its upright silly  
CA: but its cool its totally fine dont wworry ill leavve you alone and givve you a shot  
GA: Its Unbelievable  
GA: Her Patience  
CA: wwhat  
CA: wwhoa wwait wwho  
GA: Never Mind  
CA: ok wwait did she talk to you today  
CA: wwhat did she say  
CA: or glub or wwhatevver  
GA: Something About Longing To Touch You Indiscretely  
CA: WWWWHAT  
GA: And That Shes Basically In The Scarlet Throes For You  
GA: As Deep In The Flushed Section Of The Heart As One Can Be  
CA: wwait  
CA: did she actually say that  
CA: in confidence  
GA: To The Letter  
CA: can you copy exactly wwhat she said  
GA: Absolutely Not  
CA: this is bullshit youre bee essing me in some wway awwful  
CA: you dont lie but you do tease and ill tranfuse my kickass royal blood out wwith incontinent musclebeast discharge if i wwont knoww wwhen im gettin hooked  
GA: Yeah  
GA: Shes Just A Concerned Friend  
GA: Looking Out For You  
GA: Thats All  
CA: awwww fuck  
CA: see im tellin you  
CA: you got to play your cards right  
GA: What Do You Mean  
CA: if youre not savvvvy about howw you define yourself to people  
CA: you can just splash into the friend zone before you knoww wwhich wways upwward  
GA: Oh  
GA: Hmm  
CA: kan its hard  
GA: What  
CA: being a kid and growwing up  
CA: its hard and nobody understands  
caligulasAquarium [CA] ceased trolling grimAuxiliatrix [GA]  


She turned in her chair again to see him clutching the hem of the cape and holding it to his chest. There was no doubt in her mind that his eyes had welled up with tears. She sighed and checked the time. Only just approaching afternoon. She fluttered her wings in annoyance and went down to the entryway.  
The person with the white text was right. Although, the timer now read: 4:08:06:57. She left the room and began to wander LOWAA’s empty streets, her makeup, or more accurately the lack of it, completely forgotten except for a nagging feeling of something not being right.


	7. Chapter 7

She wandered through road after road, making no attempt to track where her feet took her. In a murphyotic twist of fate, she felt someone grab her shoulders. Instinctively her wings flared, knocking away whatever had grabbed her. She whirled around, reaching for her lipstick. A dark skinned man took half a step back, and she took in the pristine suit and mint condition hat. This did nothing to persuade her, and instead just powered her fury to continue. She uncapped her lipstick.

“You let your weapon do the talking for you,” the man commented, pulling out what looked like a plain pistol. With his other hand he took out a cigarette and balanced it between his mouth. He fired the gun at the tip of the cigarette, and a lance of orange flame emerged from the tip, lighting the cigarette. He tucked the gun away and revealed what looked like a pool cue. He adjusted his distinctive tie and said, “Fine by me.”

He made no move to attack, so neither did Kanaya. “Why are you here?” She held her chainsaw warily, not quite at the point of mutual trust.

“I’m looking for Doc Scratch.” His accent was vaguely British, and it was a smooth, chocolaty voice. “I suppose there’s no chance you’ve had conversations with a man who types in white.”

Her dark jade green eyes widened in recognition, and her hands tightened on the chainsaw. “Why ask me? Why not someone like Eridan?”

He took a long, contemplative drag on his cigarette before answering. “Because,” he started slowly, as if he was carefully pondering what he would say next, “he’s got some sick fondness for young girls such as yourself.”

A chill went up her spine. “What do you mean, fondness?” Her voice wavered.

“We don’t know yet. He’s not a pedophile, at least,” he said almost conversationally. Or, it would be if not for the weapon he held in his gloved hands. “He’s a kidnapper, though.”

“Who did he kidnap?”

His face, which was a picture of calm, changed. Now she stared into the vengeful face of someone who had lost everything, who was willing to do anything to get back what he had lost, and she was in his way. “My family.”

She shuddered despite the warm sun. He wasn’t looking at her, nor past her. He was looking directly _through_ her. She swallowed the lump rising in her throat. “Your family?” she asked, the formality a stark contrast to her tumultuous emotions inside.

He flipped the pool cue and, with anger he had hidden well, stabbed at her. She batted the cue away with a flick of her wings, but he continued his leap, punching her in the face.

She stepped back and readied her chainsaw. “I thought you’d be the type that doesn’t hit girls,” she drawled. “I do hope you’re willing to get that fine Eburnean suit torn.” She slashed down with her chainsaw, hitting the cue, which was obviously not just wooden as she previously thought. 

“Heh.” He sidestepped the attack, pulling his weapon free. He jabbed it at the space between her wings.

She folded her wings in to act as a shield, and after catching the cue, flared them out again, knocking him back. She whirled around to face him and slowly backed away, eyes trained on his. “Who was your family?” She held her chainsaw at the ready.

He smirked and tucked his weapon back between the lapels of his suit. She switched it to her lipstick and, with more intimidation than most thought possible, ran it over her lips. “Clever weapon you’ve got,” he commented, taking a drag on his cigarette. “Where’s it keep the lipstick?”

With shining black lips, it was her turn to smirk. “It’s the blood of my enemies.” He raised an eyebrow. She chuckled. “Literally. Of course, it’s been purified and converted.” He nodded, but still kept his eyes trained on her. The uneasy silence dragged on before she finally repeated, “You said your family was kidnapped. I’m offering to help. Who were they?”

He adjusted the brim of his hat, tugging it down further over his eyes. “No one.” He turned and started to walk away, but Kanaya laid a hand on his shoulder. He tensed up, and she immediately let go.

“Look, Mister Droog.” Her voice was no longer the uncaring drawl of banter. Now it was soft, caring, like biting into a cookie baked less than an hour ago. Not too hot like ones straight from an oven, but ones that are still warm enough to almost, but not quite, fall apart as soon as someone picks it up, the ones still warm enough to see chocolate chips that never quite had enough time to properly become gooey. The one eating it never cares about these parts when the cookie is prepared by someone they love, someone who loves them back equally. Kanaya didn’t love Diamonds Droog, don’t worry. This isn’t a romance. And he didn’t love her. But her soft voice made him remember long, dark red hair curling around brown eyes that shone maroon in the sunlight or when she was filled with internal rage at how faunus were treated.

He turned. His words almost caught in his throat, but he forced them out anyway. “You can’t help. You’ll just get hurt.”

These were the wrong words. Her eyes narrowed. He muttered a very rude word that would infuriate her mother and grandmother and that would just make her sister laugh. “Get hurt?” she snapped, her words now biting harder than the blistering heat of an oven. “Don’t make me laugh. What you said was so ridiculous I might consider laughing ironically, just so that you fully understand how stupid your words are. Ha. Ha. There, I did, despite being nowhere near true joy.”

“You could die,” he retorted.

“So?” She stamped a high-heeled foot against the ground, balancing her weight onto the balls of her feet so her heel didn’t snap. “They could too. They’re in more danger than me!”

He frowned and put out his cigarette. He ground his shoe into it until smoke stopped rising up before he started talking again. “You don’t know them. But if you’re so passionate, tell all your little friends about him and see what information you can get.”

Her wings, which stuck out beside her, began to fold back as she calmed down. “You still haven’t answered the question, mister Droog.”

He sighed. “Hanna Maiden is my wife. Ex-wife. She’s around somewhere, sometime, doing something. It’s my stepdaughter I’m worried about. Damara Megido. She’s the personal servant of Scratch. My wife, Rana Megido, died,” Kanaya sucked in a sympathetic breath, “and my youngest stepdaughter is enrolled in Skaia Academy, safely behind countless security measures.”

She nodded as she processed the information. “I will find out more information,” she promised and walked back through the streets. 

After getting suitably lost _again_ , she finally decided to get to the roof of a building to properly survey the area for the lab. White creatures leered at her through windows, but her journey went unmolested.

The door to the roof was predictably locked, but that isn’t really a problem when you carry a chainsaw around on a daily basis. The obstacle was vanquished with a comforting roar. She stepped out to see a maze of buildings, the lab a quick flight away. She took off, wind catching her wings in an exhilarating rush. Within minutes she reached the lab and entered, the timer reminding her that something would happen in four days, six hours, fifty-seven minutes, and in about forty seconds. She crossed the room and appeared in the lab, where everyone was still generally milling about. Karkat was asleep on the floor, Equius was snoring on the horn pile and curled around Nepeta, who was writing on her scroll. Gamzee was dancing to music only he could hear, Tavros was with him exercising his new legs, and the rest were by computers talking to people.

She sat down and opened Relay-tion, finally getting the hang of the ancient computers. Almost immediately messages from Nepeta filled her screen.

arsenicCatnip [AC] opened relay with grimAuxiliatrix [GA]  
AC: :33 < *ac pads up to ga, purring softly and flicking her tail*  
GA: Is This A Roleplay Scenario  
AC: :33 < yess  
GA: Very Well I Will Conjure Up A Character For The Sake Of This Conversation  
AC: :33 < *ac meows curiously and sniffs cat ga*  
GA: Assuming You Mean At And Not That I Myself Am A Cat  
GA: Ga Flaps Her Magnificent Bat Wings And Returns The Curious Sniff  
AC: :33 < *ac sits back clawn her hind legs and looks up at ga*  
AC: :33 < so why were mew out?  
AC: :33 < oops  
AC: :33 < *she asked*  
GA: I Was Wandering She Says  
AC: :33 < *ac has a furry curious look on her face when she asks did mew s33 anything inpurresting*  
GA: I Met With A Gang Member  
AC: :33 < *acs eyes go wide as she meows mew what*  
GA: No That Wasnt Part Of The Roleplay  
GA: I Did Meet With A Gang Member  
AC: :OO < woah really??  
AC: :OO < mew got to m33t a gang mempurr?  
GA: Yes  
GA: Diamonds Droog  
GA: He Told Me To Tell You To Watch For A Man Typing In White  
AC: :33 < ill k33p an eye out!  
AC: :33 < *ac twitches her ears hissteriously and walks away, flicking her tail*  
AC: :33 < *bye ga! she says befur leaving*  
GA: She Raises A Hand That Is Also A Wing Because She Is A Bat To Wave Goodbye In Return  
GA: Bye Ac She Calls Back  
GA: Following The Theme That A Cat And A Bat Can Talk To One Another Without Language Barriers And Also Be In The Same Area To Hold A Civil Conversation Without The Cat Eating The Bat  
AC: :33 < mew dont have to explain it!  
AC: :33 < its kinda mewtually unpurrstood  
GA: Sorry  
AC: :33 < dont worry about it!  
arsenicCatnip [AC] closed relay with grimAuxiliatrix [GA]

Kanaya chuckled to herself and smiled. She stood up and stretched. “Vriska!”

She turned slowly, dramatically, and smirked. “Whaaaaaaaat?”

“Do you know of anyone that types in white without a handle?” 

Vriska immediately leapt to her feet. “How do you know about him?” she snapped, arms on her hips.

Kanaya leaned back, confused. “He contacted me. How do _you_ know him?”

She turned her head away, hair falling over her eyes. “Nothing. He just contacted me, too. No big production about it. He’s just another of my irons in the fire. No need for such drama.”

“Very well.” Kanaya frowned, her brow furrowed. “I was warned to stay away from him, and you should too. Nothing good can come from it.”

“Wow Fussyfangs, can you pleeeeeeeeaaaaaaaase stop being so controlling?” She folded her arms and her good eye narrowed. “Just stay out of my life, okay?”

Her wings folded behind her back and she lowered her gaze. “Alright Vriska. Sorry.”

“Don’t be!” Terezi’s nasally voice filled the room. “You were right, nothing good has ever come out of talking to him.”

“You were the only one to contact him instead of vice-versa!” Vriska snapped, holding her dice loosely. “If anyone needs to stay away it’s you!”

“Ladies,” Kanaya urged, trying vainly to keep the peace. “Let’s just all calm down.”

Her words went ignored as Terezi and Vriska started a shouting match. She absconded further into the lab, just trying to get away from the noise. She ran into Nepeta, who was covering her ears with her blue-knit hat. The small cat-girl was whimpering and curled into a ball.

She knelt down next to her. “Are you alright?” she asked gently.

Nepeta flinched back, her tail fluffed up around her. “Too loud, too loud, it’s too loud!” She rocked, and Kanaya laid a hand uncertainly on her shoulder, unsure what she was supposed to do. She scratched at the intruding hand, and she pulled it back, rubbing at the cut. 

Kanaya got back to her feet, promising to get Equius. She hurried through the halls until she found a room full of unusual and frankly impractical machines. He was tinkering away in there, filling the room with the steady thumps of machinery and the shrill sounds of a drill. 

“Miss Maryam?” He looked up from his workbench, grabbing a nearby towel and wiping sweat and grease off his arms and chest. “May I help you?”

“It’s Nepeta. She’s, well, I’m not sure,” she confessed, wringing her hands anxiously. “She needs help and I don’t know how to fix it.”

He stood up before she had even finished talking. “Where is she?” he asked commandingly. Kanaya leapt into motion, leading him back to the place Nepeta was still curled up. He carefully scooped her up, resting the side of her head against his chest. Echoes from the argument carried out through the halls. He carried her off, probably back to the machine room, and Kanaya stood by helplessly. 

Vriska stalked past, shoving her out of the way, with Terezi in hot pursuit. They were probably continuing their argument elsewhere. Kanaya frowned, for once in her life doubting herself and her choices. Dread of the mission was washing over her, threatening to drown her in the emotional deeps. She bit her lip and ran back to her room, desperate for the safety it would provide. Upon reaching it, she lit a candle, knelt, and started to pray.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo boy. I have a vague idea of what will happen, and anyone who has read Homestuck should know about the Timer. And even if you think you know what will happen, you don't. Seriously. Because I hardly know. Well, if you're reading this, leave kudos if you think it was good, and if you don't, either click away or comment. In case you can't tell, things are starting to heat up. Metaphorically, of course.


	8. Chapter 8

The next few days were a metallic gray blur. She spent most of her time sharing sarcasm with Rose via Relay-tion or chatting blithely with Karkat. It was almost as if she was still at home. Almost. At night her insomnia steadily worsened, and she passed the time sewing, embroidering, creating, and flying. The white birds seemed to leave them alone, except for Eridan. He was pestered daily by their razor-sharp beaks and claws, and soon refused to leave the laboratory. Everything was going, dare she even say it, peacefully. It was the final day when something snapped her out of her reverie.

She was finishing a conversation with Rose when shouts filled the room. She recognized the voices as Sollux’s nasal lisp and Eridan’s accented drawl. She heard Feferi too, shouting back in Sollux’s defense.

She turned, catching sight of Sollux pulling off his red and blue 3D glasses and Eridan pointing his wand directly at his head. “What in-” She was cut off as Sollux’s Semblance activated, shooting twin beams of light at his opponent, which was countered by a streak of blinding white light. She covered her eyes as a gigantic explosion blew Sollux off his feet until he slammed into the brick wall behind him. Her lipstick was already in her hand and she uncapped it. Feferi beat her to it. Her golden trident twirled in her hands and she stabbed mercilessly. Before the weapon even grazed him she froze, a grotesque hole where a beam of light had tore through her abdomen. Blinded by rage, Kanaya unfurled her wings. She dashed forward, only to feel a screaming pain in her chest. Frantically she activated her Semblance. She toppled back and, with a terrible “HONK,” lost consciousness.

Her head hurt. Her thoughts swirled in turmoil. The world around her was a thick, inky black. She tried to move, but even the slightest motion brought more pain. She bit back a scream. She would not cry, she promised herself. She would not be weak. In the name of her mother, taken too soon and tortured by the father of the very person who killed her; in the name of Sollux, a boy who was a technological genius with too many issues to count and had finally had a good relationship for once; in the name of Feferi, a strong, confident leader who she knew was terrified to live up to her family name and who was petrified at even the mere mention of her mother; in the name of Diamonds Droog who was determined to free his family; in the name of anyone Eridan will hurt, Kanaya would not give up. She would not be weak. She would not die. She would _never_ die.

She ignored the pain. She forced her eyes open. She dragged herself up. Her Semblance made her skin glow from the sheer strength of her aura. Thanks to her Semblance, the fatal gap in her stomach was closing. She picked up Eridan’s tacky cape, abandoned in the battle. She tore a strip off the hem and tied it over her wound. She moved slowly but certainly, chainsaw held at the ready. On the roof was insanity unfolding in a three-way standoff. Terezi and Karkat stood on the edge of the dramatic standoff, holding up the blind, but still alive, body of Sollux. Gamzee’s back was to her, his ears perked up and pointed forward in uncontrollable rage. Eridan was to the left, where she was easily seen. Vriska was closest to the others, her cutlass drenched in blood.

She stormed over to Eridan, shouldering past Gamzee, who honked in shock. It would have been funny if not for the clown makeup now smeared over his scarred face. Kanaya grabbed the wand and snapped it in half, and he whimpered. She revved the chainsaw and cleft him horizontally in twain. She whirled around to Gamzee, slamming her foot directly between his legs. He let out a shriek of a honk and crumpled to the ground. Vriska, it seemed, wasn’t much of a threat. She was currently kneeling, eyes wide in shock. Kanaya switched back to her lipstick and deliberately dragged it neatly across her lips. The bright crimson was the exact same color as the blood pouring out of Eridan’s lifeless body.

The first to move was Karkat. He threw his arms around Kanaya, pulling her into a tight hug. Tears were dripping from his red albino eyes as he sobbed, “I thought Eridan had-” He cut off as his voice raised almost an octave. She gently stroked his ears, and he visibly relaxed. With a sniffle, he let go. He wiped his eyes messily, and she clucked her tongue. He laughed. It was the relieved laugh of someone who had just seen his best friend bleeding out on a pile of horns. For those that cannot relate to the common occurrence of seeing people bleeding out on horn piles, it was like the laugh of someone just coming down from a panic attack and hearing a joke that wasn’t funny, but was better than the thoughts in their head. It was the laugh of someone who just needed something light in a dark time.”You’re still you,” he rasped.

She chuckled, grabbing a handkerchief from a pocket. “Of course I am.” 

Karkat took the handkerchief, embroidered in a neat gray with his initials, and frowned. “Really Kanaya?”

She stood, arms akimbo, and frowned. “Now please don’t be like that. I’ve had that since before the mission, I just needed a neat segue to give it to you. Not that this is neat, but it is better than throwing it at your face and saying, 'Here, a present.'”

He smiled softly. “Well, thanks.” He turned away and helped Gamzee, reassuring him of anything he’d done.

“So,” she turned to the others. “Where is the rest of my team?”

“Fef’s dead,” said Sollux, not lisping this time. “Heh. I can say my S’s now.”

“I know,” she replied mournfully. “I was there.” His face fell. She could see several missing teeth. She raised a manicured, now horribly bloodstained hand to her mouth. “Oh dear Allah! What happened to your mouth? And your eyes?”

“Karkles dropped him down a set of stairs,” Terezi answered. She wasn’t shrill this time, and it was slightly off-putting. “Knocked out a lot of teeth. The eyes were Eridumb's fault.”

“And, what about Equius and Nepeta?”

Both shrugged. “They’re unaccounted for,” Terezi explained. “I think they’re probably in Nepeta’s or Equius’ room.”

“No.” Karkat walked over, Gamzee having squirreled himself away somewhere in the lab. “I asked- Dammit,” he swore as he choked up again. “I asked Equius to handle Gamzee. Obviously it didn’t work. I bet he got those scars from Nepeta leaping to save him.”

Kanaya opened her mouth, but closed it. She turned and stalked back into the lab, shrugging off any attempt to catch her arm. She looked at the timer perched on the wall in the entryway. Every number was a zero except for the minutes column. Five minutes until whatever happened. She hurried through the transportalizer maze until she reached her room. She threw all of her things into her bags and dragged them out to the timer. As she sat down to wait for the seconds to finish ticking down, her scroll buzzed.

opened relay with grimAuxiliatrix [GA]  
The time has finally arrived.  
GA: What Time  
You will, naturally, find out in a matter of minutes.  
GA: If Youre Going To Talk About The Timer Then Tell Me What The Timer Is To  
You don’t remember me, do you?  
GA: What  
GA: What Do You Mean Remember You  
GA: Were You The One Who Gave Me A Cryptic Message Before The Mission  
GA: Dont Turn Your Back On The Body Or Something  
Yes, but that wasn’t our first meeting.  
We met once before. In a dream.  
Fitting, don’t you think?  
That the first lesson to teach you how to lucid dream was in a dream itself.  
GA: That Was You  
GA: Why  
To train you.  
To watch you grow.  
I’ve always wanted a daughter, and you and your friends do much better than the vulgar young lady that works as a maid to me.  
GA: What Girl  
No more questions.  
The time for questions will be over in three…  
GA: What Are You Talking About  
Two…  
GA: What The Hell Are You Saying  
Watch the language, miss Maryam.  
I would hate for your last moments to be so rude.  
Well, it doesn’t matter now.  
One...  
grimAuxiliatrix is idle!  
Zero.  
User grimAuxiliatrix doesn’t exist!  
I told you so.


End file.
